System and method for distributing assets to multi-tiered network nodes

ABSTRACT

Provided are methods and systems for distributing an asset to a multi-tiered network node. A pending notice is received from a distribution server. If the notice indicates that at least one asset is pending, i.e., awaiting deployment, an asset descriptor manifest is received from the distribution server. The asset descriptor manifest, which is stored in a memory on a node, identifies at least one asset to be deployed to the node and includes an offset associated with the asset identifier. A fragment, associated with the asset, is received and stored in the memory. The offset associated with the asset is marked with the end of the fragment and a second fragment, beginning at the offset, is received. Additional fragments are received, and the offset updated, until the entire asset is deployed to the node. Alternately, the entire asset or multiple assets are received in the first fragment.

PRIORITY DOCUMENTS & RELATED REFERENCES

This continuation application claims benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C.§120 of pending nonprovisional application U.S. Ser. No. 09/947,140entitled “Extended Environment Data Structure for Distributed DigitalAssets over a Multi-Tier Computer Network”, to Pizzorni et al. filedSep. 4, 2001, which claims benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e)to provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 60/229,685 entitled“Distributed Internet Services Provisional Filing” to Chen et al., filedon Sep. 1, 2000, now abandoned, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. Priority is also claimed for the followingdocuments for any matter not disclosed in provisional U.S. PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/229,685 incorporated by reference above. Thefollowing references are related to this patent application and areherein incorporated by reference in their entirety:

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provisional U.S. Ser. No. 60/254,377, entitled “Distributed InternetServices provisional filing II” to Pace et al., filed Dec. 8, 2000, nowabandoned;

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U.S. Ser. No. 09/947,122, entitled “Server System and Method forExporting Digital Assets in Enterprise Information Systems”, to Pace etal., filed Sep. 4, 2001, now abandoned;

U.S. Ser. No. 09/947,096, entitled “System and Method for TransactionalDeployment J2EE Web Components, Enterprise Java Bean Components, andApplication Data over Multi-tiered Computer Networks”, to Pace et al.,filed on Sep. 4, 2001, now abandoned;

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U.S. Ser. No. 09/946,699, entitled “System and Method for DistributingAssets to Multi-Tiered Network Nodes, to Pizzorni et al. filed on Sep.4, 2001, now abandoned;

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PCT Serial No. PCT/US2001/027232, entitled “System and Method forCollaboration Using Web Browsers”, to Chen et al. filed on Aug. 31,2001, now abandoned; and

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FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for distributing anasset to a multi-tiered network node.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Network applications have evolved over time to take on a multi-tieredclient and server arrangement (i.e., architecture). Typically, one ormore server computers are connected through their network interfaces byone or more networks to one or more client computers. Networks mayinclude data networks (e.g., Internet), voice networks (e.g., PublicSwitched Telephone Network—“PSTN”), wired or wireless networks, and anycombination of these used to communicate data, voice, programs, generalcontent, and/or other information. Networks may be local to a company ororganization, such as a Local Area Network (“LAN”) and an intranet, orthey may expand over large geographic areas, such as a Wide Area Network(“WAN”), that may even interconnect other networks. One widely used anddeveloping network is the Internet, which includes the World Wide Web(“WWW”). The “WWW” uses Web browser software running on the clientcomputers of the network to execute certain Web-based applications.These Web-based applications may include pages that are served from oneor more of the Web servers on the WWW in HyperText Markup Language(“HTML”) format.

Many applications on the Internet, and other network environments, use amodule or modules of software called “middleware”. Broadly, middlewarecan be any computer software function that is performed between a clientand a host system such as a database server and a Web server. However,middleware typically runs on servers that operate between the clientsand other servers in a network. For example, these other servers mayinclude an Oracle® Database, IBM® DB2 and IBM® CICS server. Middlewareis often used to execute certain computer programs which are meant tooff load processing from these other servers, to preprocess informationfor client computers, and/or to perform a set of functions or servicesthat are commonly needed for certain kinds of applications. Someexamples of functions or services that are typically performed by“middleware” would be transaction monitoring and coordination, serverload-balancing, host fail-over and other application level services.

A typical Enterprise Information System (“EIS”) is comprised of clientcomputers, middleware servers, and database servers. Web servers areincluded within the EIS when Web browser based clients must be servedvia the Internet/Intranet. EIS's are generally known and may includeapplication programs that perform the functions required by any givenbusiness and/or organization. For example, an EIS may include, interalia: online customer order entry systems; online retail/wholesalesales, marketing, and inventory systems; enterprise supply chainmanagement systems; product and/or content distribution systems (e.g.television, home video); online financial systems (e.g., mortgageapplications, investing, stock trading, loan application, and creditcard accounts); service providing systems (including medical, legal,real estate, engineering, education, distance leaning, and technicalsupport); online human resource and payroll services; online bankingsystems (e.g., deployed by a bank or other financial institutions and/orthe retail banking systems used internally by bank personnel); airlinereservation systems; and any other general way of transacting businessover a network.

Often these functions/application programs are made of parts. Forexample, an application program can be made of components, modules, orfunctions (see discussion of FIG. 1F below), which in turn are made ofobjects. The component, module or function may also include either anexpressed or implied order in which to execute the respective objects inthe component, module, or function. This order can be shown or definedby an execution graph. Restated, the execution graph may be implied bythe “calling structure” of the program.

Execution of one or more of these components, modules, functions and/orentire applications can be performed at various locations over anetwork. This well known type of program execution is called distributedprogramming. One primary advantage of distributed programming is to moreefficiently utilize the distributed computing resources over the networkto achieve improved performance. Performance can be gauged using certaincriteria such as execution time, and controlled using certain middlewareapplications such as fault-tolerance and load balancing. Importantcomputing resources such as CPUs, network bandwidth, software functionsand data storage must be well managed in order to achieve customary andgenerally known system requirements usually referred to as reliability,availability and scalability (“RAS”).

Distributed computing can allow programs to run faster because the workof the program is divided among multiple computer systems. Also,specific tasks in the program can be executed on a computer that has thefacilities to best execute these tasks. For example, a mathematicallyintensive task could be run on a computer that has a particularly fastprocessor for executing mathematical problems and application programsthat support a large variety of mathematical functions.

However, distributed programming often fails if the communication amongthe processors involved gets too complicated. Programs have to bedeveloped and installed to insure that data among the processors iscoherent. Some systems cannot tolerate noise or spurious signals on thenetwork. Delays in receiving data from one or more processors could slowthe entire system. In order to be distributed, application programs mustbe written so that tasks can be broken apart and the results of thesetasks accurately combined. This often greatly adds to projectdevelopment costs, assuming that these objectives can be accomplished atall. Communication between the various computers on the network and theprograms/protocols the computers are using must be compatible.

Often the network is thought of as being divided into tiers where eachof these components, modules, or functions is executed. These tiers arecommonly divided by functional (or logical) and/or physical computinglevels or sub-tiers. The advantage of dividing the network applicationsystem into multiple tiers is to facilitate the development anddeployment of the various computing resources. Some times tiers arethought of as physical locations where components, modules, or functionsof programs are executed. For example, some components, modules orfunctions can be executed on the EIS tier or middleware tier, whileother components, modules, or functions are executed on the clientcomputers (the client tier). Alternatively, tiers of the network can bedivided logically, such as on a small human resource system, where theclient and server part of the components, modules, or functions are allon one computer, but logically the components, modules, or functions arestill developed and deployed based on the client and the server tierbeing separate tiers.

Network tiers can also be combinations of physical and logical tiers.For example, take an online banking system that is comprised of a clientcomputer, middleware servers, and various backend database systems.Suppose the client, middleware and database systems are physicallyseparate computer systems (tiers). The middleware tier may be subdividedinto logical tiers such as a Web server, an application server, and atransaction server tier.

In much of the existing middleware, objects used are highlyinterdependent and defined by the function(s) of the middleware. Somewell-known middleware objects include: Sun Microsystem's Java ServerPager™ (“JSP”) and Enterprise Java Bean™ (“EJB”). The JSP objectexecutes programs, based on requests from one or more clients. The EJBobject executes certain programs that are pre-packaged into an“Enterprise Java Bean” format. Other objects may include, for example,general data files, general programs, and general multimedia contentfiles (e.g., text, video, sound, and voice content).

It is often necessary for various servers and clients to communicateeven though they may have different runtime environments (i.e., arerunning different application programs such as middleware) and arerunning on different platforms (i.e., have different hardware andoperating systems). Generally, servers and clients communicate usingwell-known protocols like HyperText Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”) overTCP/IP. Other network communication protocols include InternetInteroperable Protocol (“IIOP”) that permits communication betweendifferent computer platforms over a network. One example of a technologythat uses IIOP would be the Common Object Request Broker Architecture™(“CORBA”). At a high-level CORBA specifies many standards involvingapplication level communication among disparate applications andcomputing platforms.

The prior art discloses some “open” architectures that permitprogrammers to develop code that will have general use in a networkingenvironment. Some of these architectures permit communication betweenprograms executing on different systems, different platforms orenvironments, and even using different programming languages over thenetwork (and network tiers.) An open architecture encourages developmentof applications that can be used generally with a flexibility tointeract with any other architecture based program (component, module,function or object) without regard to what, where, or on what system theother application parts exist or execute.

One such open architecture system is called JINI™. JINI uses Java™technology to wrap these otherwise incompatible programs, particularlydriver programs for input/output devices so that these devices can beplugged into a JINI compatible network and operate and communicate withany other device on the network. For example, JINI can be used to permitany pervasive device on a wireless network to communicate with any otherJINI compatible pervasive device that comes within the communicationrange of the wireless network.

FIGS. 1A-1E discussed below are each a block diagram illustrating aprior art middleware computer platform.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a general middleware computersystem 160 with well-known computer hardware 100, a general networkoperating system 102 (e.g., Microsoft Windows NT™), a middlewareplatform 104 (e.g., Microsoft® Commerce Server), a transactionaloperating system 106 (e.g., Microsoft® Transaction Server—“MTS”), and agiven application program 108 (e.g., an online ticketing salesapplication).

FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating a generally known Javamiddleware platform 170 that has computer hardware 100 and a networkoperating system 102. A middleware platform which supports EnterpriseJavaBeans™ (“EJB”) 114 runs on the network operating system 102 thatallows Java™ application programs 118 to run on the system 170.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram illustrating a generally known CORBAmiddleware platform 180 that has computer hardware 100 and a networkoperating system 102. The CORBA middleware platform 124 permits generalapplication programs 120 to operate on this platform. For example, theseapplication programs 120 may include Java™ C++, COBOL, and Smalltalkprograms.

FIG. 1D is a block diagram illustrating a generally known Windowsmiddleware system 190 that operates on Windows compatible hardware 100.A Windows® DNS (COM/MTS) or MTS system is a middleware system 134available from the Microsoft Corporation that permits generalapplication program 120 to run on the platform 190.

FIG. 1E is a block diagram illustrating a generally known system 195that uses hardware 100, a network operating system 102, and a middlewareprogram 144 called TUXEDO™ (made by BEA Systems, Inc). This platform 195runs application programs 146 written in the C programming language.

FIG. 1F is a diagram showing a prior art hierarchical relationship amongsystem and application parts. The largest part is a system 105F thatcontain one or more complete applications 108. The system 105F also cancontain one or more subsystems 106F that each in turn may include one ormore applications 108. The application 108 is a group of one or morecomputer programs. Subapplications 110F are parts of applications 108.Some applications 108 and/or subapplications 110F may include one ormore components 120F.

A component 120F may exist at a some significant layer within anapplication 108. A component 120F may be part of a distributed systemthat interacts with its environment by exchanging message/informationwith other components 120F and/or applications (108, 110F). Components120F may include runnable (i.e., executable) and non-runnable parts. Therunnable/executable parts of components 120F are generally calledmodules 130. Modules 130 in turn comprise one or more functions 140Falso known as routines 140F or methods 140F.

Middleware, and for that matter, other prior art programs that functionin a network environment, often need to communicate information betweenlogical and/or physical functions in the network. For example, data orprograms (e.g. objects) might need to be passed to a program orcomponent, module, or function executing on the same machine as theapplication program. On the other hand, this information might have tobe passed across the network to components, modules, functions,subapplications, or applications that are running on completelydifferent computers. The prior art has various ways of addressing thisproblem. Some prior art passes information “by value” betweencomponents, modules, functions or applications. Thus, information neededis passed, e.g. in a “call statement” or header file to the component,module, function or application requiring the information. Otherinformation, such as the results from a calculation, can be passed backin a same manner. Other prior art uses replication to pass information.In replication, programs and data are copied from one machine (computer)to a second machine where they are executed in an “island” mode.

Some prior art (e.g. Castanet™) is able to package and deploy businessapplications to computers over the network. Other prior art includescontent distribution systems (e.g., those marketed by Akamai, Inc.) thatphysically locate caching servers throughout the world to cache contentfrom Web sites and provide more local delivery to end user (clients).Similar systems include Digital Island, Ltd's global distributionnetwork, called Footprint, that pushes certain application contentthrough the network to servers located closer to the end-user. InktomiTraffic Server™ is a network cache platform from Inktomi Inc. thatdelivers certain application content to servers across the network.

Several terms and concepts are defined in the prior art of softwareanalysis, design, and programming languages. Software systems can becomposed of one or more applications. These applications can beassembled from one or more components, modules, functions or objects. Insoftware written using object-oriented techniques, many modules furtherhave a one-to-one correspondence with a class in the particularobject-oriented language. A class or set of classes may also beconsidered a component if the class or set of classes meets therequirements of a specified component system. Examples of componentsystems are: COM, CORBA, EJB, ActiveX, XPCOM, and JavaBeans™.

Classes may be composed of one or more functions or proceduresoptionally coupled along with one or more variables. The functions orprocedures are generally referred to as methods, while the variables aregenerally referred to as data members. At runtime, classes areinstantiated into objects, which are distinct entities, separate fromthe definition of the object, that is, the class. The data membersrepresent the data or state of the object. The methods characterize thebehavior of the object.

Build systems transform collections of non-runnable computer files intorunnable computer modules and assembles them into components andapplications. Build systems cannot identify or export required digitalassets (hereinafter also termed assets) on an existing EnterpriseInformation System (“EIS”). Build systems also cannot identify runtimeexecution and data dependencies in previously installed EISapplications. Build systems generally contain incremental linkers whichestablish runtime relationships among modules of object code and are animprovement over regular linkers because they re-link only changedmodules on command.

Archive utilities (e.g., archive utilities generating Zip, Gzip, and Tararchive files) are used for distributing and storing files. These filesmay contain one or more program and data files. Usually the archivefiles are compressed to save space. Archive files make it easy to groupfiles and make transporting and copying these files faster. Typically,archive utilities examine the file types of the files to be zipped andinvoke a file type specific compression subroutine to compress the fileand add it to the archive.

Other types of software examine computer files and invoke rules based onfile type to achieve specific results. Specifically, virus scan softwarewill examine executable programs and based on one or more rules,determine whether there is a virus in the executable routine of theprogram. Virus scan software (e.g., McAfee virus software) can not beused and is not meant to be used to discover particular software,package the software, and then distribute the software over a network.

Software which may be classified as “enhanced” build systems (e.g.,Starbase) control versioning of code and static elements of softwareproducts during development, as well as deployment of the completedproducts of development using various transport mechanisms todestination user computing platforms. Such enhanced build systems aredesigned to control and deploy only work in progress, ancillaryproducts, and the completed products of development, and the inventoryof code, static, and ancillary elements managed by such systems isrigorously constrained and must be rigorously constrained to thosepurposes. Such enhanced build systems cannot be used and are not meantto be used to discover particular software, package the software, andthen distribute the software over the Internet. The prior art alsodiscloses specifications for deployment of Web components (particularlyJ2EE Web components), Enterprise JavaBean™ (“EJB”) components, and J2EEapplication data. The J2EE specification provides methods oftransactional deployment of J2EE Web and EJB components to applicationserver products that otherwise comply with the J2EE specification. Thereis no provision in the J2EE specification for transactional deploymentof J2EE application data.

Using different computing environments and platforms creates manycommunication and operability problems on the network. For example, manycomputing environments (including middleware environments) only canoperate with programs with which they are specifically designed tooperate. Much of the prior art is unable to communicate or shareinformation or programs with any general platform or computingenvironments. Much of the prior art cannot distribute programs and/ordata over one or more networks so that the programs can be executed andthe data used on any given platform or environment. Where thisdistribution occurs, it is only possible with the expenditure ofconsiderable resources and highly trained system designers.

The prior art does not solve the need to be able to distribute data,programs, and portions of programs in a more efficient way over varioustiers of a network to operate on any general platform or environment.Another variation of this problem involves the explanation ofmiddleware's intra-tier distribution versus inter-tier distribution.Middleware application servers are targeted at defining tiers offunctionality. These tiers may scale within the tier, but notnecessarily utilizing the processing power available in other tiers.

Much of the prior art middleware is constrained. Typically, middlewareis only used with a particular EIS and is designed specifically for thatEIS's platform and environment. Often this middleware operates in localarea networks with 10/100 megabits of bandwidth or less. Most of thismiddleware cannot effectively function in a wide area networkenvironment, or on the Internet, where bandwidth capabilities are oftenmore restrictive. This middleware cannot communicate with computersystems that do not use the same communication protocols for which themiddleware was designed.

Much of the middleware typically operates between the EIS Web server andthe EIS database management system (“DBMS”). The result is that theperformance of the middleware is limited by the performance of the EISWeb server and/or the EIS DBMS. Much of the middleware does not workwith components, modules or functions that are designed to execute on aplatform/environment different than that of the EIS for which themiddleware was designed. Therefore, this middleware can't organize,schedule, and/or distribute applications outside of the EIS. This priorart middleware cannot enable the execution of any general component,module, function, and/or application program to be executed on anygeneral computer with any general platform/environment, nor does thismiddleware suggest how this might be done. The prior art middlewarecannot distribute application programs and/or components, modules orfunctions for execution over different tiers of a network, nor has theprior art recognized the need to do this.

Some prior art architectures (e.g., JINI) permit communication betweencomputers with different platforms/environments. However, much of thiscommunication is used to enable standard interface functions like print,read data, etc. These architectures are not capable of decomposingcomplex application programs, of the sort found on an EIS, andrecomposing these application programs so that they can be executed onany given platform. These prior art architectures cannot organize,schedule, and/or distribute application programs and/or components,modules, or functions across many tiers of a network so that theseapplication programs/components, modules or functions can be executed onany general platform/environment.

Much of the prior art cannot automatically identify and extractsubapplications, components, modules, functions, and specific files anddata structures from legacy programs located on an EIS in order toexport these application parts to other machines connected to the EISthrough one or more networks. In addition, the prior art generally failsto identify these application parts by type so that the applicationparts can be processed in such a manner to include the necessaryinformation and structures particular to the type so that theapplication part can be transformed and/or executed on various tiers ofthe network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments and/or exemplary methods of the present inventionare directed to improved data structure for defining digital assets.Additional exemplary embodiments and/or exemplary methods of the presentinvention are directed to improved data structure for defining digitalassets for packaging, distribution, deployment, execution,synchronization, and/or lifecycle management over multi-tiered networks.

Exemplary embodiments and/or exemplary methods of the present inventionsconcern a data structure, program product, and product of manufacturethat has an extended environment (EE) data structure that is part of adigital asset. The digital asset is transmittable over one or moremulti-tiered networks. The data structure has one or more commondescriptors to provide a unique identification of the digital asset onthe networks. There are also one or more asset dependency descriptors toidentify one or more associated digital assets. Associated digitalassets are associated with the digital asset by a joint membership asparts of a whole. The asset further has one or more target serverdependencies descriptors to identify a base execution environment on oneor more target computers. (The base execution environment is required toexecute the digital asset on the respective target computer. The baseexecution environment comprises zero or more other digital assetsdeployed to the respective target computer from one or more of theEnterprise Information Systems (EIS) or other sources.) In anotherexemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method, one or more EIS serverdependencies descriptors are included to identify an EIS executionenvironment on the respective EIS/source from which the asset resides.In still other exemplary embodiments and/or exemplary methods, otherdescriptors are included in the extended environment data structure.

An exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the present inventionis directed to an extended environment data structure that is part of adigital asset, the digital asset being transmittable over one or moremulti-tiered networks, the data structure including: one or more commondescriptors to provide a unique identification of the digital asset onthe multi-tiered networks; one or more base environment descriptors toidentify a required base execution environment on one or more targetcomputers, the base execution environment being required to execute thedigital asset on a respective target computer, in which the baseexecution environment includes zero or more other digital assetsdeployed to the respective target computer from one or more EnterpriseInformation Systems (EIS).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the common descriptors include at least one of: a digital assetname of the digital asset, a unique fully qualified name of the digitalasset, an address of the digital asset, a size of the digital asset, avolatility descriptor of the digital asset, a common runnable descriptorof the digital asset, a user type descriptor of the digital asset, asecurity descriptor of the digital asset, a price descriptor of thedigital asset, an independent deployment of the digital asset, and apriority of the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the base execution environment includes at least one of: one ormore DBMS, one or more application servers, one or more Web servers, oneor more JMS implementations, one or more J2EE application servers, oneor more browsers, one or more Java Virtual Machine™ (JVM)instantiations, one or more operating systems, systems, sub-systems,applications, sub-applications, components, modules, and functions.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the whole is defined by at least one of: a graph, a containmentgraph, a tube graph, a call graph, a pure representation expressible asa graph.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to an extended environment data structure that ispart of a digital asset, the digital asset being transmittable over oneor more multi-tiered networks, the data structure including: one or morecommon descriptors to provide a unique identification of the digitalasset on the multi-tiered networks; one or more asset dependencydescriptors to identify one or more associated digital assets, theassociated digital assets being associated with the digital asset by ajoint membership as parts of a whole; and one or more base environmentdescriptors to identify a base execution environment on one or moretarget computers, the base execution environment being required toexecute the digital asset on a respective target computer, in which thebase execution environment includes zero or more other digital assetsdeployed to the respective target computer from one or more EnterpriseInformation Systems (EIS).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the asset dependency descriptors include at least one of: one ormore names of other digital assets on which the digital asset isdependent, an asset identifier, and one or more unique fully qualifiednames of other digital assets on which the digital asset is dependent.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to an extended environment data structure that ispart of a digital asset, the digital asset being transmittable over oneor more multi-tiered networks, the data structure including: one or morecommon descriptors to provide a unique identification of the digitalasset on the multi-tiered networks; one or more asset dependencydescriptors to identify one or more associated digital assets, theassociated digital assets being associated with the digital asset by ajoint membership as parts of a whole; one or more base environmentdescriptors to identify a base execution environment on one or moretarget computers, the base execution environment being required toexecute the digital asset on a respective target computer; and one ormore EIS server dependencies descriptors to identify an EIS executionenvironment on a respective EIS on which the digital asset resides.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich one or more EIS server dependencies descriptors identify an EISexecution environment on a respective EIS from which the digital assetis transformed into a neutral environment form.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich one or more EIS server dependencies descriptors identify an EISexecution environment on a respective EIS from which the digital assetis prepared for transformation into a neutral environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the base execution environment includes zero or more other digitalassets deployed to a respective target computer from one or more of theEnterprise Information Systems (EIS).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich one or more EIS server dependencies identified by one or more ofthe EIS server dependencies descriptors include at least one of: EISoperating systems, EIS database management systems (DBMS), EIS servers,EIS application servers, EIS web application servers, one or moregeneral business applications, one or more accounting applications,customer relationship management systems (CRM), business to business(B2B) systems, supply chain management systems, business to customer(B2C) system, order fulfillment systems, electronic shopping systems,one or more Enterprise Application Integration systems, one or morelegacy interfaces, one or more Java Connector Framework™ (JCF)connectors, one or more JCF connectors for legacy interfaces, andmessage oriented middleware applications.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the EIS server dependencies include at least one of: one or moreDBMS products, one or more Oracle® DBMS, one or more Sybase DBMS, andone or more DB2 DBMS.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich zero or more of the base environment descriptors and zero or moreof the EIS server dependencies descriptors are capable of being comparedindependently to a neutral form to determine whether a transform of thedigital asset is required for the digital asset to be deployed on arespective target computer.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich one or more of the environment base descriptors and one or moreEIS server dependencies descriptors are capable of being compared todetermine whether a transform of the digital asset is required for thedigital asset to be deployed on a respective target computer.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the transform of the digital asset includes a transformation ofdata in a logic/data section of the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more reference descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the reference descriptors include at least one of: a referencelink descriptor, a reference file descriptor, and a reference directorydescriptor.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the reference link descriptor provides a world-wide-web (WWW)address having contents used for processing of the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the reference link descriptor provides a world-wide-web (WWW)address having contents used during execution of the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the reference file descriptor is a unique fully qualified name ofa file required for reference by the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the reference directory descriptor provides an additional addressinformation for locating one or more of the associated digital assets.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more transform descriptors to enable atransform of the digital asset from an EIS execution environment to thebase execution environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the transform descriptor includes a properties descriptor toprovide information required for use of the digital asset on anoperating system of the base execution environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the transform descriptor includes a format descriptor to provideinformation required for use of the digital asset on an operating systemof the base execution environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the transform descriptor includes a registry descriptor to provideinformation required for use of the digital asset on a Windows operatingsystem on the base execution environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more asset type descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the asset type descriptors include at least one of: static content(SC), dynamic content (DC), Enterprise JavaBeans™ (EJB), reference data(RD), session bean (SB), entity bean (EB), entity data (ED), Java class(JC), JavaBeans™ (JB), Java™ Connector Framework (JCF), and Java™ applet(JA).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more asset category descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the asset category descriptors include at least one of: apresentational descriptor, a transactional descriptor, an integrationconnector descriptor, and a relational data descriptor.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the asset category descriptors include at least one of: a contentdescriptor, a presentational component descriptor, a transactionalcomponent descriptor, an integration connector component descriptor, anobject data descriptor, and a relational data descriptor.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more asset class descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the asset class descriptors include at least one of: base, Java,non-Java, language, and non-language.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more package relationship descriptorsrepresenting a part-whole relationship between the digital asset and oneor more packages containing the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the package relationship descriptors represent at least thefollowing three relationships in the part-whole relationship: amandatory part-whole relationship, a shared part-whole relationship, anda root part-whole relationship.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more security descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the security descriptors include at least one of the followingfunctions: encryption, authentication, authorization, and accesscontrol.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more runnable descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more of the runnable descriptors that include aneutral format to enable deferment of an assignment to a targetexecution environment for the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more of the runnable descriptors that include atarget execution environment for the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more of the runnable descriptors that includean EIS execution environment and a target execution environment for thedigital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more non-runnable descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more non-runnable descriptors that include adescription of the base execution environment for the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more of the non-runnable descriptors thatinclude a neutral format to enable deferment of an assignment to atarget execution environment for the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more non-runnable descriptors that includedescription of the EIS execution environment and the base executionenvironment for the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more personalization descriptors to enable thedigital asset to be customized upon delivery to one or more of the baseexecution environments.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the personalization descriptors include one or more data keys,being derived from a directory service, to establish a linkage amongdata elements in the EIS execution environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the directory service is one or more of the following incombination or a federated hierarchy: an LDAP server, Single-Sign-Onservice, and/or JNDI service.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich a linkage of data elements resolve to a DBMS query in which one ormore EIS databases are partitionable specifically for the needs of oneor more target environments.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich a linkage of data elements resolve to one or more content relatedassets that are partitionable specifically for the needs of one or moretarget environments.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich a linkage of data elements resolve to one or more applicationrelated assets that are partitionable specifically for the needs of oneor more target environments.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the application related assets include at least one of:presentational components and transactional components.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the application related assets include at least one of: JSP, Java™Servlet, and Java™ EJB.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the personalization descriptors include one or more data keys toestablish a linkage among data elements in an EIS execution environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the personalization descriptors include one or more data keys toestablish a linkage among logic elements in an EIS executionenvironment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more pricing descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the pricing descriptors describe information about at least oneof: a price, a price scheme, a subscription price scheme, a pay to ownprice scheme, a pay to use price scheme, a one time payment pricescheme, a payment detail, payment method, a check description, a creditcard description, and a credit card number.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more target information descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the target information descriptors describe at least one of: awell known user, an anonymous user, one or more user groups, an entireuser group, a target machine, an identifiable segment of target machinesa collection of target machines, an internet protocol address mask, anda group of target computers in a node collection structure.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more schema descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the schema descriptors provide information to describe at leastone of: database table names and definitions, database column names anddefinitions, database key identifiers and value ranges, database viewnames and definitions, and other well known database schema elements.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more metadata descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the metadata descriptors provide information to describe any ormore of: repository object definitions, scope object definitions, moduleobject definitions, operation object definitions, exception objectdefinitions, constant object definitions, properties object definitions,attribute object definitions, relationship object definitions, typeobject definitions, and other well known metadata object definitions.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more distribution logic descriptors, eachhaving one or more transactions rules and one or more concurrency rules.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the transactions rules specify any of a number and a frequency oftimes that the digital asset is distributable to one or more of thetarget computers.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the concurrency rules specify whether there are any restrictionson distribution of the digital asset with respect to the distribution ofone or more other digital assets.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the data structure is received from one or more networkconnections.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the data structure is sent over one or more network connections.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the data structure is stored on one or more memories.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich information in the data structure is modified at one or morelocations on one or more of the multi-tiered networks as the digitalasset is distributed over the multi-tiered networks.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to an extended environment data structure that ispart of a digital asset, the digital asset being transmittable over oneor more multi-tiered networks, the data structure including: one or morecommon descriptor apparatus, arrangement or structure for providing aunique identification of the digital asset on the networks; one or moreasset dependency descriptor apparatus, arrangement or structure foridentifying one or more associated digital assets, the associateddigital assets being associated with the digital asset by a jointmembership as parts of a whole; and one or more base environmentdescriptor apparatus, arrangement or structure for identifying a baseexecution environment on one or more target computers, the baseexecution environment being required to execute the digital asset on arespective target computer, in which the base execution environmentincludes zero or more other digital assets deployed to the respectivetarget computer from one or more Enterprise Information Systems (EIS).

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to a computer program product having an extendedenvironment data structure that is part of a digital asset, the digitalasset being transmittable over one or more multi-tiered networks, thedata structure including: one or more common descriptors to provide aunique identification of the digit asset on the multi-tiered networks;one or more base environment descriptors to identify a base executionenvironment on one or more target computers, the base executionenvironment being required to execute the digital asset on a respectivetarget computer, in which the base execution environment includes zeroor more other digital assets deployed to the respective target computerfrom one or more Enterprise Information Systems (EIS).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the computer program product having theextended environment data structure, further including: one or moreasset dependency descriptors to identify one or more associated digitalassets, the associated digital assets being associated with the digitalasset by a joint membership as parts of a whole.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to a memory structure having an extendedenvironment data structure that is part of a digital asset stored on thememory structure, the digital asset being transmittable over one or moremulti-tiered networks, the data structure including: one or more commondescriptors to provide a unique identification of the digit asset on themulti-tiered networks; one or more base environment descriptors toidentify a base execution environment on one or more target computers,the base execution environment being required to execute the digitalasset on a respective target computer, in which the base executionenvironment includes zero or more other digital assets deployed to therespective target computer from one or more Enterprise InformationSystems (EIS).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the memory structure having an extendedenvironment data structure, further including: one or more assetdependency descriptors to identify one or more associated digitalassets, the associated digital assets being associated with the digitalasset by a joint membership as parts of a whole.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the transform of the digital asset includes a transformation ofdata in a logic/data section of the digital asset.

An exemplary embodiment of a component distribution server (CDS) systemaccording to the present invention, connected to at least one networkthrough at least one respective network interface, includes: a packagespecification process that receives at least one package, the packagesbeing subparts of at least one application program from at least oneenterprise information system (EIS), the packages having at least oneasset, each asset having an asset type and at least two asset layers, afirst asset layer being a logic/data layer and a second asset layerbeing an extended environment layer, the logic/data layer havinginformation that includes a function of the asset and the extendedenvironment layer being a subset of the EIS and having portions of theEIS necessary to support the respective logic/data layer; a processadapter process that translates at least one of the asset layers so thatthe asset performs the asset function on at least one target baseenvironment of at least one target computer; and a target process thatchanges the at least one of the layers of the asset in order to providespecific information for at least one of the specific target computers,whereby a transformed asset is an asset that is translated by theprocess adapter process and changed by the target process.

An exemplary method executed by a computer server connected to at leastone network according to the present invention includes the steps of:receiving at least one package from at least one enterprise informationsystem (EIS), the packages being subparts of at least one applicationprogram, the packages having at least one asset, each asset having anasset type and at least two asset layers, a first asset layer being alogic/data layer and a second asset layer being an extended environmentlayer, the logic/data layer having information that includes a functionof the asset and the extended environment layer being a subset of theEIS and having portions of the EIS necessary to support the respectivelogic/data layer; translating at least one of the asset layers so thatthe asset can perform the asset function on at least one target baseenvironment of at least one target computer; and changing at least oneof the layers of the asset in order to provide specific information forat least one specific target computer.

An exemplary embodiment of a computer server according to the presentinvention includes: an arrangement configured to receive at least onepackage from at least one enterprise information system (EIS), thepackages being subparts of at least one application program, thepackages having at least one asset, each asset having an asset type andat least two asset layers, a first asset layer being a logic/data layerand a second asset layer being an extended environment layer, thelogic/data layer having information that includes a function of theasset and the extended environment layer being a subset of the EIS andhaving portions of the EIS necessary to support the respectivelogic/data layer; an arrangement configured to translate at least one ofthe asset layers so that the asset can perform the asset function on atleast one target base environment of at least one target computer; andan arrangement configured to change at least one of the layers of theasset in order to provide specific information for at least one specifictarget computer.

In an exemplary embodiment of a computer memory storage device storing acomputer program according to the present invention, the computerprogram includes the steps of: receiving at least one package from atleast one enterprise information system (EIS), the packages beingsubparts of at least one application program, the packages having atleast one asset, each asset having an asset type and at least two assetlayers, a first asset layer being a logic/data layer and a second assetlayer being an extended environment layer, the logic/data layer havinginformation that includes a function of the asset and the extendedenvironment layer being a subset of the EIS and having portions of theEIS necessary to support the respective logic/data layer; translating atleast one of the asset layers so that the asset can perform the assetfunction on at least one target base environment of at least one targetcomputer; and changing at least one of the layers of the asset in orderto provide specific information for at least one specific targetcomputer.

An exemplary method and/or exemplary embodiment of the present inventionprovides an improved system and method for extracting and exportingdigital assets of an EIS so that EIS systems, sub systems, applications,sub applications, components, modules, or functions, and/or objects canbe packaged, distributed, deployed, executed, synchronized, and/ormanaged through a lifecycle over a multi-tiered network. Anotherexemplary method and/or exemplary embodiment of the present inventionprovides an improved system and method for extracting and exporting as ameans of distributing, deploying, and/or executing web applications,components, modules or functions and/or objects over the Internet.Another exemplary method and/or embodiment of the present inventionprovides an improved system and method for extracting and exportingtypes of digital assets that are extracted from one or more EIS/sourceand identifying those digital assets according to their respective typeso that the digital asset can be exported, e.g., in packages, from theEIS/source to be distributed, deployed, executed, synchronized, and/ormanaged through a lifecycle over tiers of the network.

Another exemplary method and/or embodiment of the present inventionprovides a system, method, article of manufacture, and a computerprogram product that locates and categorizes identified member objectsof one or more computer system parts in an Enterprise Information System(EIS) or other sources for export to either a packaging process or toanother computer system over tiers of one or more networks. Theexemplary method and/or embodiment begins by traversing an intermediaterepresentation of one or more parts of a computer system while applyingone or more context rules to determine a context of the parts. Thecontext may be either a standard specified context or a non-specifiedcontext. If a standard specified context is determined, a directedsearch is performed to acquire any of the set of runnable and/ornon-runnable member objects in one or more locations in an EnterpriseInformation System (EIS) or other sources as identified in theintermediate representation and specified by the context. If anon-specified context is determined, an implicit traversal search isperformed for any of the set of runnable and/or non-runnable memberobjects in one or more locations in an Enterprise Information System(EIS)/source identified in the intermediate representation. One or moreof the set of runnable and/or non-runnable member objects are thenaccessed at their respective locations in the EIS/source. A preliminarypackage specification may be made for the accessed set of the runnableand/or non-runnable member objects. Digital assets in an asset inventorythat correspond to the respective runnable and non-runnable memberobjects, may be listed in the preliminary package specification andupdated by adding one or more export descriptors to the extendedenvironment of the respective digital assets. In another exemplarymethod and/or embodiment, one or more entries in an asset definitiondata structure corresponding to each of the respective digital assetsare updated.

An exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the present inventionprovide a computer system and a method for transactional deployment ofone or more components over a multi-tier network, which computer systemhas one or more J2EE application server programs which are stored on oneor more memories of the system and which are executed by one or morecentral processing units (CPUs). One or more J2EE applications can beexecuted on the J2EE application servers, and one or more J2EEapplication containers are contained within each J2EE applicationserver. In turn, each J2EE application container contains one or moreJ2EE application container components, and one or more Java EJBcontainers or Java web containers are contained within each J2EEapplication container. One or more J2EE components are delivered to theJ2EE application server over one or more tiers of the network. There areone or more logical connections to one or more databases located on thenetwork. The at least one J2EE application server program, the at leastone J2EE application, the at least one J2EE application container, theat least one J2EE application container component, the at least onedelivered J2EE component and the logical connection define a sphere ofcontrol managing a transactional deployment of the at least onedelivered J2EE component and an update of the database to keep the dataconsistent with the J2EE application.

In accordance with the exemplary method of the present invention, thesphere of control achieves the steps of: accessing the database;initiating a deployment of a latest version of a data object to thedatabase; determining whether the deployment of the data object issuccessful; deploying at least one file containing a latest version ofthe delivered J2EE component into the at least one J2EE applicationcontainer; and determining whether the latest version of the deliveredJ2EE component is successfully deployed into the at least one J2EEapplication container. In addition, a previous version or the latestversion of the delivered J2EE component is stored for rollback in caseof subsequent deployment failures involving the data object and/or thedelivered J2EE component. Furthermore, the previous version of deliveredJ2EE component and a previous version of the data object are discardedonly if both the deployment of the latest version of the data object andthe deployment of the latest version of the delivered J2EE componentinto the J2EE application container are successful.

An exemplary method and/or exemplary embodiment of the present inventionprovides for bridging assets over a multi-tiered network. An asset mayrepresent network and/or application components (e.g., data, objects,applications, program modules, etc.) that may be distributed among thevarious resources of the network. Generally, communications can bemaintained between executable assets residing on different network nodesby bridging the execution context of the two nodes. In an embodiment, amapping layer can be generated for assets that have run-timedependencies; the mapping layer uses a distribution system to bridge theexecution context of a first environment with that of a secondenvironment. The asset executing in the first environment is able toaccess another resource located in the second environment, even thoughthe asset does not have local access to the resource in the secondenvironment. A fault is detected when at least one asset deployed on alocal node attempts to access at least one resource on a remote nodethrough an application programming interface. The fault is then behandled appropriately.

An exemplary method and/or exemplary embodiment of the present inventiondistributes an asset to a multi-tiered network node. An asset mayrepresent network and/or application components (e.g., data, objects,applications, program modules, etc.) that may be distributed among thevarious resources of the network. In an embodiment, a pending notice isreceived from a distribution server. If the notice indicates that atleast one asset is pending (i.e., awaiting deployment), an assetdescriptor manifest is received from the distribution server. The assetdescriptor manifest identifies at least one asset to be deployed to thenode, and includes an offset associated with the asset identifier. Theasset descriptor manifest is stored in a memory on the node. A fragment,associated with the asset, is received and stored in the memory. Theoffset associated with the asset is marked with the end of the fragment,and another fragment, beginning at the offset, is then received.Additional fragments are received, and the offset updated, until theentire asset is deployed to the node. In an alternative embodiment, theentire asset is received in the first fragment. In another embodiment,multiple assets are received in the first fragment.

The present invention provides a system and method for translating anasset for distribution to a multi-tiered network node. An asset mayrepresent network and/or application components (e.g., data, objects,applications, program modules, etc.) that may be distributed among thevarious resources of the network. In an embodiment, an asset has alogic/data section and an extended environment section. The logic/datasection defines a function of the digital asset along with the asset'stype, while the extended environment section supports the function ofthe logic/data section within at least one source environment. The assettype is determined and a process asset adapter, associated with theasset type and a target environment, is selected. The asset is thentranslated into a processed asset having a processed extendedenvironment section supporting the function of the logic/data section inthe target environment.

An exemplary method and/or exemplary embodiment of the present inventionsynchronizes an asset over a multi-tiered network. An asset mayrepresent network and/or application components (e.g., data, objects,applications, program modules, etc.) that may be distributed among thevarious resources of the network. Synchronization addresses therestoration of asset coherency in a distributed system, i.e. bringingchanges made to assets on one distributed node into harmonization withchanges made to assets on another distributed node. In an embodiment, asynchronization call having a data argument and an asset type isreceived, an adapter associated with the asset type is selected, and thedata argument is passed to the adapter. The asset type is determined, aswell as a table associated with the asset type. A synchronizationinformation object is retrieved from a target environment on a targetnode, and a synchronization asset is created based on thesynchronization information. A connection is established between thetarget node and the asset's original source node, and thesynchronization asset is sent from the target node to the source node.

One embodiment of the present invention is a method for distributingchanges to digital assets across a network. The method includesdetermining an asset type of a first digital asset and comparing thefirst digital asset to a prior digital asset to determine one or moredeltas, the prior digital asset being a prior version of the firstdigital asset and the delta being a difference between the first digitalasset and the prior digital asset. The method further includesevaluating the one or more of the deltas with one or more criteria todetermine if the one or more delta assets should be created, the deltaasset being a second digital asset containing the respective delta, thecriteria determined by the asset type. The method further includes thatif the delta meets the criteria, creating the delta asset, and markingthe delta asset as a first delta asset of the first digital asset.

One embodiment of the present invention is a method of operating acomputer system for targeting one or more digital assets on adistribution server connected to one or more networks so that thedigital assets are compatible with one or more target nodes connected tothe networks. The method includes examining the one or more digitalassets to determine an asset type of the digital asset and, if the assettype is Relational Data (RD), retrieving one or more where clauses ofthe digital asset. The method further includes executing a tokenreplacement operation on the where clause to create a transformed whereclause and running a query on one or more tables specified in thedigital asset using the transformed where clause, the query returningone or more returned records and the returned records correlating withthe target node. The method further includes storing the returned recordin the digital asset.

An exemplary embodiment of a system for distributing at least oneinfrastructure description record (IDR) over at least one tier of anetwork according to the present invention includes at least one networkinterface that receives the infrastructure description records (IDRs)and the IDRs being enqueued on at least one incoming, transactional,persistent queue (ITPQ), at least one transactional, persistent store,and at least one transactional process that dequeues the IDR from theITPQ and accesses the IDR to create an accessed IDR, the accessed IDRbeing stored in the transactional, persistent store in the system.

An exemplary embodiment of a system that includes a transactional unitof work (TUW) for distributing at least one infrastructure descriptionrecord (IDR) over at least one tier of a network according to thepresent invention includes at least one incoming, transactional,persistent queue (ITPQ), at least one first transactional, persistentstore, and at least one first transactional process that stores the IDRin the first transactional, persistent store in the system, and producesthe IDR by sending the IDR from the transactional, persistent storethrough the network interface over the network.

An exemplary embodiment of a system that includes a transactional unitof work (TUW) for distributing at least one digital asset over at leastone tier of a network according to the present invention includes atleast one incoming, transactional, persistent queue (ITPQ), at least onefirst transactional, persistent store, and at least one firsttransactional process that stores the digital assets in the firsttransactional, persistent store in the system, and produces the digitalasset by sending the digital asset from the transactional, persistentstore through the network interface over the network, the digital assetshaving a Logic/Data (LD) section and an Extended Environment (EE)section.

An example embodiment of a transactional unit of work chain (TCHAIN) ofat least two transactional units of work (TUW) for transactional andfault-tolerant distribution of at least one infrastructure descriptionrecord (IDR) over at least one tier of a network according to thepresent invention includes:

a first TUW including:

at least one first incoming, transactional, persistent queue (ITPQ);

at least one first transactional, persistent stores;

at least one first network interface that consumes the infrastructuredescription records (IDRs) by receiving the IDR and enqueuing the IDR onthe first incoming, transactional, persistent queue (ITPQ); and

at least one first transactional process that dequeues the IDR from thefirst ITPQ, accesses the IDR to create an accessed IDR, stores theaccessed IDR in the first transactional, persistent store in the system,and produces the accessed IDR by sending the accessed IDR from the firsttransactional, persistent store through the first network interface overthe network; and

a second TUW including:

at least one second incoming, transactional, persistent queue (ITPQ);

at least one second transactional, persistent store;

at least one second network interface that consumes the accessed IDR byreceiving the accessed IDR from the first TUW and enqueuing the accessedIDR on the second incoming, transactional, persistent queues (ITPQ); and

at least one second transactional process that dequeues the IDR from thesecond ITPQ, accesses the IDR to create a second accessed IDR, storesthe second accessed IDR in the second transactional, persistent store inthe system, and produces the second accessed IDR by sending the secondaccessed IDR from the second transactional, persistent store through thesecond network interface over the network.

An exemplary embodiment of a transactional unit of work matrix (TMATRIX)for transactional and fault-tolerant distribution of at least oneinfrastructure description record (IDR) and at least one digital assetover at least one tier of a network according to the present inventionincludes:

a first TUW including:

at least one first incoming, transactional, persistent queue (ITPQ);

at least one first transactional, persistent store;

at least one first network interface that consumes the infrastructuredescription records (IDRs) by receiving the IDR and enqueuing the IDR onthe first incoming, transactional, persistent queues (ITPQ), andconsumes the digital assets by receiving the digital assets andenqueuing the digital assets on the first incoming, transactional,persistent queues (ITPQ); and

at least one first transactional process that dequeues the IDR from thefirst ITPQ, accesses the IDR to create a first IDR, stores the first IDRin the first transactional, persistent store in the system, and producesthe first IDR by sending the first IDR from the first transactional,persistent store through the first network interface over the network,and the first transactional processes further dequeue the digital assetsfrom the first ITPQ, access the digital assets to create first digitalassets, store the first digital assets in the first transactional,persistent store in the system, and produce the first digital assets bysending the first digital assets from the first transactional,persistent store through the first network interface over the network;and

a second TUW including:

at least one second incoming, transactional, persistent queue (ITPQ);

at least one second transactional, persistent store;

at least one second network interface that consumes the first IDR byreceiving the first IDR from the first TUW and enqueuing the first IDRon the second incoming, transactional, persistent queues (ITPQ), andconsumes at least one of the digital assets by receiving the digitalassets and enqueuing the digital assets on the second incoming,transactional, persistent queues (ITPQ);

at least one second transactional process that dequeues the first IDRfrom the second ITPQ, accesses the first IDR to create a second IDR,stores the second IDR in the second transactional, persistent store inthe system, and produces the second IDR by sending the second IDR fromthe second transactional, persistent store through the second networkinterface over the network, and the second transactional processesfurther dequeue the digital assets from the second ITPQ, access thedigital assets to create second digital assets, store the second digitalassets in the second transactional, persistent store in the system, andproduce the second digital assets by sending the second digital assetsfrom the second transactional, persistent store through the secondnetwork interface over the network;

a third TUW including:

at least one third incoming, transactional, persistent queue (ITPQ);

at least one third transactional, persistent store;

at least one third network interface that consumes the first digitalassets by receiving the first digital assets from the first TUW andenqueuing the first digital assets on the third incoming, transactional,persistent queues (ITPQ); and

at least one third transactional process that dequeues the first digitalassets from the third ITPQ, accesses the first digital assets to createthird digital assets, stores the third digital assets in the thirdtransactional, persistent store in the system, and produces the thirddigital assets by sending the third digital assets from the thirdtransactional, persistent store through the third network interface overthe network, and produces third IDRs by sending the third IDR from thethird transactional, persistent store through the third networkinterface over the network;

a fourth TUW including:

at least one fourth incoming, transactional, persistent queue (ITPQ);

at least one fourth transactional, persistent store;

at least one fourth network interface that consumes the second digitalassets by receiving the second digital assets from the second TUW andenqueuing the second digital assets on the fourth incoming,transactional, persistent queues (ITPQ), and that consumes third IDRs byreceiving the third IDR from the third TUW and enqueuing the third IDRon the fourth incoming, transactional, persistent queues (ITPQ),

at least one fourth transactional process that dequeues the seconddigital assets from the fourth ITPQ, accesses the second digital assetsto create fourth digital assets, stores the fourth digital assets in thefourth transactional, persistent store in the system, and produces thefourth digital assets by sending the fourth digital assets from thefourth transactional, persistent store through the fourth networkinterface over the network, the fourth transactional processes furtherdequeue the third IDR from the fourth ITPQ, access the third IDR tocreate a fourth IDR, store the fourth IDR in the fourth transactional,persistent store in the system.

An exemplary method for distributing at least one infrastructuredescription record (IDR) over at least one tier of a network accordingto the present invention includes the steps of receiving at least one ofthe infrastructure description records (IDRs), enqueuing the IDRs on atleast one incoming, transactional, persistent queue (ITPQ), dequeuingthe IDR from the ITPQ, accessing the IDR to create an accessed IDR, andstoring the accessed IDR in a transactional, persistent store.

An exemplary embodiment of a system for distributing at least oneinfrastructure description record (IDR) over at least one tier of anetwork according to the present invention includes an arrangementconfigured to receive at least one of the infrastructure descriptionrecords (IDRs), an arrangement configured to enqueue the IDRs on atleast one incoming, transactional, persistent queue (ITPQ), anarrangement configured to dequeue the IDR from the ITPQ, an arrangementconfigured to access the IDR to create an accessed IDR, and anarrangement configured to store the accessed IDR in a transactional,persistent store.

An exemplary embodiment of a computer program product stored on a memoryincludes the steps of receiving at least one infrastructure descriptionrecord (IDR), enqueuing the IDRs on at least one incoming,transactional, persistent queue (ITPQ), dequeuing the IDR from the ITPQ,accessing the IDR to create an accessed IDR, and storing the accessedIDR in a transactional, persistent store.

An object of an exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of thepresent invention is directed to an improved data structure for definingdigital assets.

Another object of an exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of thepresent invention is directed to an improved data structure for definingdigital assets for packaging, distribution, deployment, execution,synchronization, and/or lifecycle management over multi-tiered networks.

Exemplary embodiments and/or exemplary methods of the present inventionsconcern a data structure, program product, and product of manufacturethat has an extended environment (EE) data structure that is part of adigital asset. The digital asset is transmittable over one or moremulti-tiered networks. The data structure has one or more commondescriptors to provide a unique identification of the digital asset onthe networks. There are also one or more asset dependency descriptors toidentify one or more associated digital assets. Associated digitalassets are associated with the digital asset by a joint membership asparts of a whole. The asset further has one or more target serverdependencies descriptors to identify a base execution environment on oneor more target computers. (The base execution environment is required toexecute the digital asset on the respective target computer. The baseexecution environment comprises zero or more other digital assetsdeployed to the respective target computer from one or more of theEnterprise Information Systems (EIS) or other sources.) In anotherexemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method, one or more EIS serverdependencies descriptors are included to identify an EIS executionenvironment on the respective EIS/source from which the asset resides.In still other exemplary embodiments and/or exemplary methods, otherdescriptors are included in the extended environment data structure.

An exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the present inventionis directed to an extended environment data structure that is part of adigital asset, the digital asset being transmittable over one or moremulti-tiered networks, the data structure including: one or more commondescriptors to provide a unique identification of the digital asset onthe multi-tiered networks; one or more base environment descriptors toidentify a required base execution environment on one or more targetcomputers, the base execution environment being required to execute thedigital asset on a respective target computer, in which the baseexecution environment includes zero or more other digital assetsdeployed to the respective target computer from one or more EnterpriseInformation Systems (EIS).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the common descriptors include at least one of: a digital assetname of the digital asset, a unique fully qualified name of the digitalasset, an address of the digital asset, a size of the digital asset, avolatility descriptor of the digital asset, a common runnable descriptorof the digital asset, a user type descriptor of the digital asset, asecurity descriptor of the digital asset, a price descriptor of thedigital asset, an independent deployment of the digital asset, and apriority of the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the base execution environment includes at least one of: one ormore DBMS, one or more application servers, one or more Web servers, oneor more JMS implementations, one or more J2EE application servers, oneor more browsers, one or more Java Virtual Machine (JVM) instantiations,one or more operating systems, systems, sub-systems, applications,sub-applications, components, modules, and functions.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the whole is defined by at least one of: a graph, a containmentgraph, a tube graph, a call graph, a pure representation expressible asa graph.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to an extended environment data structure that ispart of a digital asset, the digital asset being transmittable over oneor more multi-tiered networks, the data structure including: one or morecommon descriptors to provide a unique identification of the digitalasset on the multi-tiered networks; one or more asset dependencydescriptors to identify one or more associated digital assets, theassociated digital assets being associated with the digital asset by ajoint membership as parts of a whole; and one or more base environmentdescriptors to identify a base execution environment on one or moretarget computers, the base execution environment being required toexecute the digital asset on a respective target computer, in which thebase execution environment includes zero or more other digital assetsdeployed to the respective target computer from one or more EnterpriseInformation Systems (EIS).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the asset dependency descriptors include at least one of: one ormore names of other digital assets on which the digital asset isdependent, an asset identifier, and one or more unique fully qualifiednames of other digital assets on which the digital asset is dependent.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to an extended environment data structure that ispart of a digital asset, the digital asset being transmittable over oneor more multi-tiered networks, the data structure including: one or morecommon descriptors to provide a unique identification of the digitalasset on the multi-tiered networks; one or more asset dependencydescriptors to identify one or more associated digital assets, theassociated digital assets being associated with the digital asset by ajoint membership as parts of a whole; one or more base environmentdescriptors to identify a base execution environment on one or moretarget computers, the base execution environment being required toexecute the digital asset on a respective target computer; and one ormore EIS server dependencies descriptors to identify an EIS executionenvironment on a respective EIS on which the digital asset resides.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich one or more EIS server dependencies descriptors identify an EISexecution environment on a respective EIS from which the digital assetis transformed into a neutral environment form.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich one or more EIS server dependencies descriptors identify an EISexecution environment on a respective EIS from which the digital assetis prepared for transformation into a neutral environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the base execution environment includes zero or more other digitalassets deployed to a respective target computer from one or more of theEnterprise Information Systems (EIS).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich one or more EIS server dependencies identified by one or more ofthe EIS server dependencies descriptors include at least one of: EISoperating systems, EIS database management systems (DBMS), EIS servers,EIS application servers, EIS web application servers, one or moregeneral business applications, one or more accounting applications,customer relationship management systems (CRM), business to business(B2B) systems, supply chain management systems, business to customer(B2C) system, order fulfillment systems, electronic shopping systems,one or more Enterprise Application Integration systems, one or morelegacy interfaces, one or more Java Connector Framework (JCF)connectors, one or more JCF connectors for legacy interfaces, andmessage oriented middleware applications.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the EIS server dependencies include at least one of: one or moreDBMS products, one or more Oracle DBMS, one or more Sybase DBMS, and oneor more DB2 DBMS.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich zero or more of the base environment descriptors and zero or moreof the EIS server dependencies descriptors are capable of being comparedindependently to a neutral form to determine whether a transform of thedigital asset is required for the digital asset to be deployed on arespective target computer.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich one or more of the environment base descriptors and one or moreEIS server dependencies descriptors are capable of being compared todetermine whether a transform of the digital asset is required for thedigital asset to be deployed on a respective target computer.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the transform of the digital asset includes a transformation ofdata in a logic/data section of the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more reference descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the reference descriptors include at least one of: a referencelink descriptor, a reference file descriptor, and a reference directorydescriptor.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the reference link descriptor provides a world-wide-web (WWW)address having contents used for processing of the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the reference link descriptor provides a world-wide-web (WWW)address having contents used during execution of the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the reference file descriptor is a unique fully qualified name ofa file required for reference by the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the reference directory descriptor provides an additional addressinformation for locating one or more of the associated digital assets.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more transform descriptors to enable atransform of the digital asset from an EIS execution environment to thebase execution environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the transform descriptor includes a properties descriptor toprovide information required for use of the digital asset on anoperating system of the base execution environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the transform descriptor includes a format descriptor to provideinformation required for use of the digital asset on an operating systemof the base execution environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the transform descriptor includes a registry descriptor to provideinformation required for use of the digital asset on a Windows operatingsystem on the base execution environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more asset type descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the asset type descriptors include at least one of: static content(SC), dynamic content (DC), Enterprise JavaBeans™ (EJB), reference data(RD), session bean (SB), entity bean (EB), entity data (ED), Java class(JC), JavaBeans™ (JB), Java™ Connector Framework (JCF), and Java™ applet(JA).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more asset category descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the asset category descriptors include at least one of: apresentational descriptor, a transactional descriptor, an integrationconnector descriptor, and a relational data descriptor.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the asset category descriptors include at least one of: a contentdescriptor, a presentational component descriptor, a transactionalcomponent descriptor, an integration connector component descriptor, anobject data descriptor, and a relational data descriptor.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more asset class descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the asset class descriptors include at least one of: base, Java,non-Java, language, and non-language.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more package relationship descriptorsrepresenting a part-whole relationship between the digital asset and oneor more packages containing the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the package relationship descriptors represent at least thefollowing three relationships in the part-whole relationship: amandatory part-whole relationship, a shared part-whole relationship, anda root part-whole relationship.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more security descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the security descriptors include at least one of the followingfunctions: encryption, authentication, authorization, and accesscontrol.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more runnable descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more of the runnable descriptors that include aneutral format to enable deferment of an assignment to a targetexecution environment for the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more of the runnable descriptors that include atarget execution environment for the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more of the runnable descriptors that includean EIS execution environment and a target execution environment for thedigital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more non-runnable descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more non-runnable descriptors that include adescription of the base execution environment for the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more of the non-runnable descriptors thatinclude a neutral format to enable deferment of an assignment to atarget execution environment for the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more non-runnable descriptors that includedescription of the EIS execution environment and the base executionenvironment for the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more personalization descriptors to enable thedigital asset to be customized upon delivery to one or more of the baseexecution environments.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the personalization descriptors include one or more data keys,being derived from a directory service, to establish a linkage amongdata elements in the EIS execution environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the directory service is one or more of the following incombination or a federated hierarchy: an LDAP server, Single-Sign-Onservice, and/or JNDI service.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich a linkage of data elements resolve to a DBMS query in which one ormore EIS databases are partitionable specifically for the needs of oneor more target environments.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich a linkage of data elements resolve to one or more content relatedassets that are partitionable specifically for the needs of one or moretarget environments.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich a linkage of data elements resolve to one or more applicationrelated assets that are partitionable specifically for the needs of oneor more target environments.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the application related assets include at least one of:presentational components and transactional components.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the application related assets include at least one of: JSP, Java™Servlet, and Java™ EJB.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the personalization descriptors include one or more data keys toestablish a linkage among data elements in an EIS execution environment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the personalization descriptors include one or more data keys toestablish a linkage among logic elements in an EIS executionenvironment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more pricing descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the pricing descriptors describe information about at least oneof: a price, a price scheme, a subscription price scheme, a pay to ownprice scheme, a pay to use price scheme, a one time payment pricescheme, a payment detail, payment method, a check description, a creditcard description, and a credit card number.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more target information descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the target information descriptors describe at least one of: awell known user, an anonymous user, one or more user groups, an entireuser group, a target machine, an identifiable segment of target machinesa collection of target machines, an internet protocol address mask, anda group of target computers in a node collection structure.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more schema descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the schema descriptors provide information to describe at leastone of: database table names and definitions, database column names anddefinitions, database key identifiers and value ranges, database viewnames and definitions, and other well known database schema elements.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more metadata descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the metadata descriptors provide information to describe any ormore of: repository object definitions, scope object definitions, moduleobject definitions, operation object definitions, exception objectdefinitions, constant object definitions, properties object definitions,attribute object definitions, relationship object definitions, typeobject definitions, and other well known metadata object definitions.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure,further including one or more distribution logic descriptors, eachhaving one or more transactions rules and one or more concurrency rules.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the transactions rules specify any of a number and a frequency oftimes that the digital asset is distributable to one or more of thetarget computers.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the concurrency rules specify whether there are any restrictionson distribution of the digital asset with respect to the distribution ofone or more other digital assets.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the data structure is received from one or more networkconnections.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the data structure is sent over one or more network connections.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the data structure is stored on one or more memories.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich information in the data structure is modified at one or morelocations on one or more of the multi-tiered networks as the digitalasset is distributed over the multi-tiered networks.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to an extended environment data structure that ispart of a digital asset, the digital asset being transmittable over oneor more multi-tiered networks, the data structure including: one or morecommon descriptor apparatus, arrangement or structure for providing aunique identification of the digital asset on the networks; one or moreasset dependency descriptor apparatus, arrangement or structure foridentifying one or more associated digital assets, the associateddigital assets being associated with the digital asset by a jointmembership as parts of a whole; and one or more base environmentdescriptor apparatus, arrangement or structure for identifying a baseexecution environment on one or more target computers, the baseexecution environment being required to execute the digital asset on arespective target computer, in which the base execution environmentincludes zero or more other digital assets deployed to the respectivetarget computer from one or more Enterprise Information Systems (EIS).

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to a computer program product having an extendedenvironment data structure that is part of a digital asset, the digitalasset being transmittable over one or more multi-tiered networks, thedata structure including: one or more common descriptors to provide aunique identification of the digit asset on the multi-tiered networks;one or more base environment descriptors to identify a base executionenvironment on one or more target computers, the base executionenvironment being required to execute the digital asset on a respectivetarget computer, in which the base execution environment includes zeroor more other digital assets deployed to the respective target computerfrom one or more Enterprise Information Systems (EIS).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the computer program product having theextended environment data structure, further including: one or moreasset dependency descriptors to identify one or more associated digitalassets, the associated digital assets being associated with the digitalasset by a joint membership as parts of a whole.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to a memory structure having an extendedenvironment data structure that is part of a digital asset stored on thememory structure, the digital asset being transmittable over one or moremulti-tiered networks, the data structure including: one or more commondescriptors to provide a unique identification of the digit asset on themulti-tiered networks; one or more base environment descriptors toidentify a base execution environment on one or more target computers,the base execution environment being required to execute the digitalasset on a respective target computer, in which the base executionenvironment includes zero or more other digital assets deployed to therespective target computer from one or more Enterprise InformationSystems (EIS).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the memory structure having an extendedenvironment data structure, further including: one or more assetdependency descriptors to identify one or more associated digitalassets, the associated digital assets being associated with the digitalasset by a joint membership as parts of a whole.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the extended environment data structure, inwhich the transform of the digital asset includes a transformation ofdata in a logic/data section of the digital asset.

An object of an exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of thepresent invention is directed to providing an improved system and methodfor discovering and/or identifying and extracting digital assets from anEIS or other sources so that EIS/source systems, sub systems,applications, sub applications, components, modules, or functions,and/or objects can be packaged, distributed, deployed, executed,synchronized, and/or managed through a lifecycle in a distributedmanner.

Another object of an exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of thepresent invention is directed to providing an improved system and methodfor discovering and/or identifying, extracting, packaging, distributing,deploying, and/or exporting, web applications, components, modules orfunctions and/or objects over the Internet.

Another object of an exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of thepresent invention is directed to providing an improved system and methodfor discovering and/or identifying types of digital assets that areextracted from one or more EISs and identifying those digital assetsaccording to their respective type so that the digital asset can beexported, e.g., in packages, from the EIS as a means of distribution,deployment, and/or execution over tiers of the network.

Exemplary embodiments and/or exemplary methods of the present inventionsconcern a system, method, article of manufacture, and a computer programproduct that identifies (discovers) member objects of one or morecomputer system parts in an Enterprise Information System (EIS) or othersources while establishing at least one relationship (e.g.,topographical) among the member objects. This involves traversing one ormore computer file systems of the EIS/source to find one or more of themember objects. For each member object found, a digital asset identifierof the found member object is placed in an intermediate representation.The intermediate representation is a graph with nodes and edges. Each ofthe digital asset identifiers corresponds to one of the nodes of thegraph. The edges represent the relationship. A digital asset is createdfrom the member object by placing the member object in a logic/datasection of the digital asset and attaching an extended environment datastructure to the logic/data section. The digital asset is stored in anasset inventory container object. This may be repeated for each foundmember object until the intermediate representation fully describes thecomputer system part and the asset inventory container object is acomplete inventory of the digital assets of interest in the computersystem part. Additional structures describing attributes of the digitalasset created can also be constructed. Further, the descriptiveinformation related to the digital asset may be placed in the respectiveextended environment data structure.

An exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the present inventionis directed to a discovery method for identifying member objects of oneor more computer system parts in an Enterprise Information System (EIS)and for establishing at least one topographical relationship among themember objects, the discovery method being executable by one or morecomputers, each of the computers having one or more memories and one ormore central processing units (CPU), the method including the steps of:(a) traversing one or more computer file systems of the EIS to find oneor more of the member objects, the member objects meeting one or moreselection criteria; (b) for each member object found, placing a digitalasset identifier of the member object in an intermediate representation,the intermediate representation being a graph with nodes and edges, eachof the digital asset identifiers corresponding to one of the nodes ofthe graph, the edges representing the topographical relationship; (c)creating a digital asset from the member object by placing the memberobject in a logic/data section of the digital asset and attaching anextended environment data structure to the logic/data section; (d)storing the digital asset in an asset inventory container object; and(e) repeating steps (a) through (d) until the intermediaterepresentation sufficiently describes the computer system part, in whichthe asset inventory container object is a sufficiently completeinventory of the digital assets of the computer system part that meetthe selection criteria.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, further including theinserted step (d1) of creating an entry in an asset definition datastructure, the entry having descriptions of one or more digital assetattributes of the digital asset, the asset definition data structurebeing a complete list of the digital assets of the computer system partthat meet the selection criteria.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the computersystem parts include at least one of the following: a computer system, acomputer sub-system, an application, a sub-application, a module, and afunction.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, further including thestep of storing one or more descriptors in the extended environment datastructure after the extended environment data structure is created instep c.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the descriptorsinclude one or more common descriptors to provide a uniqueidentification of the digital asset on the multi-tiered networks.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the commondescriptor includes at least one of: a digital asset name of the digitalasset, a unique fully qualified name of the digital asset, an address ofthe digital asset, a unique hash value for the digital asset, a checksumfor the digital asset, and a size of the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the descriptorsinclude one or more asset dependency descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the assetdependency descriptors include any at least one of: at least one namesof other digital assets on which the digital asset is dependent, anasset identifier, and one or more unique fully qualified names of otherdigital assets on which the digital asset is dependent.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the descriptorsinclude one or more reference descriptors.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the referencedescriptors include at least one of: a reference link descriptor, areference file descriptor, and a reference directory descriptor.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the referencelink descriptor provides a world-wide-web (WWW) address having contentsused for processing of the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the referencelink descriptor provides a world-wide-web (WWW) address having contentsused during execution of the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the referencedirectory descriptor provides an additional address information forlocating one or more of the associated digital assets.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the referencefile descriptor is a unique fully qualified name of a file required forreference by the digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the descriptorsinclude one or more runnable descriptors for indicating that the digitalasset is a runnable digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which one or more ofthe runnable descriptors include a description of a neutral executionenvironment, enabling dynamic targeting of the digital asset for one ormore target environments.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which one or more ofthe runnable descriptors include a description of an EIS executionenvironment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the descriptorsinclude one or more non-runnable descriptors for indicating that thedigital asset is a non-runnable digital asset.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which one or more ofthe non-runnable descriptors include a description of an EIS executionenvironment.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which one or more ofthe non-runnable descriptors include a description of a neutralexecution environment, enabling the dynamic targeting of the digitalasset for one or more target environments.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the assetdefinition data structure includes at least one of: an assetidentification, an asset location, a URL, a name, an asset type, and aversion.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to a discovery system for identifying one or moremember objects of one or more computer system parts of an EnterpriseInformation System (EIS) and for establishing at least one topographicalrelationship among the member objects, the system including: a traversorto traverse one or more computer file systems to find one or more of themember objects, the member objects meeting one or more selectioncriteria; an intermediate representation builder to place, for eachmember object found by the traversor, a digital asset identifier in anintermediate representation, the intermediate representation being agraph with nodes and edges, the digital asset identifier correspondingto one of the nodes of the graph, the edges representing thetopographical relationship; a digital asset creator to create a digitalasset from the member object by placing the data object in a logic/datasection of the digital asset and attaching an extended environment datastructure to the logic/data section; and an inventory function to storethe digital asset in an asset inventory container object.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to a discovery system for identifying memberobjects of one or more computer system parts of an EnterpriseInformation System (EIS) and for establishing at least one topographicalrelationship among the member objects, the system including: anapparatus, arrangement or structure for traversing one or more computerfile systems to find one or more of the member objects, the memberobjects meeting one or more selection criteria; an apparatus,arrangement or structure for placing a digital asset identifier in anintermediate representation for each member object found, theintermediate representation being a graph with nodes and edges, thedigital asset identifier corresponding to one of the nodes of the graph,the edges representing the topographical relationship; an apparatus,arrangement or structure for creating a digital asset from the memberobject by placing the member object in a logic/data section of thedigital asset and attaching an extended environment data structure tothe logic/data section; and an apparatus, arrangement or structure forstoring the digital asset in an asset inventory container object.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to a computer program product having a computerprogram for performing the steps of: (a) traversing one or more computerfile systems to find one or more of the member objects, the memberobjects meeting one or more selection criteria; (b) for each memberobject found, placing a digital asset identifier of the respectivemember object in an intermediate representation, the intermediaterepresentation being a graph with nodes and edges, the digital assetidentifier corresponding to one of the nodes of the graph, the edgesrepresenting the topographical relationship; (c) creating a digitalasset from the data object by placing the member object in a logic/datasection of the digital asset and attaching an extended environment datastructure to the logic/data section; and (d) storing the digital assetin an asset inventory container object.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to a computer memory storing a computer programfor performing the steps of: (a) traversing one or more computer filesystems to find one or more of the member objects, the member objectsmeeting one or more selection criteria; (b) for each member objectfound, placing a digital asset identifier of the member object in anintermediate representation, the intermediate representation being agraph with nodes and edges, the digital asset identifier correspondingto one of the nodes of the graph, the edges representing thetopographical relationship; (c) creating a digital asset from the memberobject by placing the member object in a logic/data section of thedigital asset and attaching an extended environment data structure tothe logic/data section; and (d) storing the digital asset in an assetinventory container object.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to a discovery method executable by a computerwith one or more memories and one or more central processing units(CPUs), the method including the steps of: (a) determining a startingpoint in a sub part of one or more application programs, the sub part ofthe application program having a path of execution; (b) determining oneor more edges of the path of execution and one or more elements of thesub part of the application program, each of the elements connected byat least one of the edges; (c) placing the elements in an assetcandidate list; (d) classifying one or more of the elements in the assetcandidate list according to an asset type; and (e) determining one ormore of the elements in the asset candidate list that is to be includedin an asset package.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the path ofexecution is at least one of: a call graph, an execution call graph, adependency tree, a set of one or more hyperlinks, an expressed callgraph, and an implied call graph.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the edges areidentified as at least one of: a hyperlink, a method call, a programcall, a sub routine call, a program name in an execution list, and acall to an external program.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the sub part isan entire application program.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the applicationprogram is in a form of at least one of: Perl, PHP, Java™, MicrosoftC##, C++, ASP, Visual Basic®, Delphi™, Fortran™, a web page, and aJavaServer Page™ (JSP).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the edges aredeterminable by a text search of the part of the application program.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the edges aredeterminable by a text search of the part of a reverse engineeredapplication program.

Yet another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to a discovery method executable by a computerwith one or more memories and one or more central processing units(CPUs), the method including the steps of: (a) determining a top levelpage in a set of web pages, the set of web pages related to one anotherby a path of execution; (b) determining one or more hyperlinks as edgesof the path of execution and one or more elements of the sub part of theapplication program, each of the elements connected by at least one ofthe hyperlinks; (c) placing the elements in an asset candidate list; (d)classifying one or more of the elements in the asset candidate listaccording to an asset type; and (e) determining one or more of theelements in the asset candidate list that is to be included in an assetpackage.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the top-levelpage is a JavaServer™ Page (JSP).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the top-levelpage includes at least one of: HTML and Java™ source code.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the hyperlinksare identified by a text search of the top-level page.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the elements areJava™ objects that the top-level page will instantiate.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the asset typesare determined by which classes of Java™ objects are loaded by a servletand the classes are mapped by a Java™ Servlet specification.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which one or more ofthe elements has a static HTML asset type.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which static HTML textof the static HTML asset type has one or more image tags and anadditional element is created in the asset candidate list for one ormore of the image tags.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the image tagincludes at least one of: IMG and A.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which one or more ofthe elements has an asset type of a Java™ class file (JC).

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, further including thestep of: generating an external call graph for the JC, the external callgraph for the JC being a list of method calls made within a classrepresentation of the JC.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the externalcall graph for the JC is generated by at least one of: byte codeexamination and de-compilation technology.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which one or more ofthe method calls of the external call graph for the JC creates anelement in the asset candidate list.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which one or more ofthe elements has a JAR file asset type.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the JAR file hasat least one of the following file extensions: “JAR”, “WAR”, and “EAR”.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, further including thestep of generating an external call graph for each Java™ class in theJAR file, the external call graphs for the java classes in the JAR filebeing a list of JAR method calls made within a class representation ofthe JAR file.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which the externalcall graph for the JAR file is generated by at least one of: byte codeexamination and de-compilation technology.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, in which one or more ofthe elements has an EJB asset type.

Another exemplary embodiment and/or exemplary method of the presentinvention is directed to the discovery method, further including thesteps of: (f) matching a method signature against an interface of one ormore of the EJB asset types; and (g) adding an EJB digital asset to theasset candidate list if there is no match.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1E, are block diagrams illustrating various prior artmiddleware systems.

FIG. 1F is a diagram showing a prior art hierarchical relationship amongsystem and application parts.

FIG. 1G is a diagram illustrating the conceptual association of one ormore system parts to one or more target nodes (e.g., nodes, clients, andother targets) using an engagement table.

FIG. 1H is a block diagram illustrating an engagement table according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram depicting a conceptual structure of an assetaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B shows a preferred description of an asset lifecycle 240L.

FIG. 2C is a block diagram of a preferred extended environment (EE) 220of any general digital asset 240.

FIG. 3 is a Unified Modeling Language (“UML”) diagram of an asset classobject according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a package data structure (i.e., a packagestructure) showing the assets associated with a package according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an asset definition datastructure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a deployable asset data structureaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a target asset data structureaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a target deployment queue datastructure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a physical network architectureof a system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a logical network architectureof a system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a data structure showing a plurality ofpackages according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a package definition datastructure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13A is a block diagram illustrating an alternative package datastructure with an Extended Environment for Packages (“EEP”) according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13B is a UML diagram showing the transitive part-whole associationsbetween certain digital assets and certain packages according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13C is a flowchart of a package specification process according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13D is a block diagram of a packaging queue according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 13E-13F are a flowchart of an asset packaging process according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 13G-13H are a flowchart of a client deployment process (“CDP”)according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13I is block diagram illustrating a client asset table according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13J is a block diagram illustrating the asset descriptor manifestdata structure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13K is a flowchart of the node registration process (NRP) accordingto one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13L is a block diagram of a node registration specification datastructure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14A is a flowchart of the EIS export asset adapter process/method(EAM) according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14B is a flowchart of the version asset adapter process/method(VAM) according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 14C-14D are a flowchart of an alternative preferred EIS exportadapter process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15A is the flowchart of the client deployment asset adapter (DAM)method/process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15B is a block diagram of one preferred J2EE transactionaldeployment sphere of control according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15C is a flowchart of the implementation process of one preferredJ2EE transactional deployment within the sphere of control according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is the flowchart of the CDS/ADS process asset adaptermethod/process (PAM) according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of the CDS/ADS target asset adapter method (TAM)according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 18A-18B are a flowchart of the synchronize asset adapter method(SAM) according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 19A-19B are a flowchart of the EIS discovery asset adaptermethod/process (DAM) according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 19C is a flowchart of the EIS adjustment asset adaptermethod/process (AAM) according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 19D is a flowchart of an alternative preferred discovery assetadapter process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19E is a diagram of a prior art graph structure, specifically acontainment graph structure, used to establish membership relationshipsof digital assets according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19F is a block diagram of a preferred asset inventory according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of a publishing agent method according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of a subscriber agent (SA) method according toone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a computational agent method according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of a caching agent method according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of an asset distribution process according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 25A-25C are a flowchart of a streaming process according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 presents the Bridged Computational Environment (BCE) capabilityof the DIS technology according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 27 describes the capability of the DIS to assign, measure, enforce,and report Quality of Service (QoS) functionality throughout the DISsystem according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28A is a flow chart of some example steps used by target/clientnodes in the present asset distribution architecture.

FIG. 28B is a flow chart of some preferred example steps performed by aserver in the present asset distribution architecture.

FIG. 28C is a flow chart of some preferred example steps used inpackage/application definition and distribution.

FIG. 28D is a flow chart of some preferred example steps in assetdistribution to computational environments and caches.

FIG. 28E is a flow chart of some preferred example steps showing assetexecution in a distributed manner across network tiers.

FIG. 28F is a flow chart of some preferred example steps showingdistribution of current assets.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram of a general system according to oneembodiment of the present invention being used in various businesssituations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In an example embodiment of the present invention, a subapplication(hereinafter also referred to as a “package”) of a larger parentapplication, such as, for example, an Enterprise Information System(“EIS”), may be distributed and/or transformed over two or more tiers(discussed below) of a communications network. According to thisembodiment, after the distribution and/or transformation of the package,the package may be distributed, cached, and/or executed on one or moretarget computer nodes. As discussed below, a computer node may betargeted by computer and/or other related hardware, the softwareenvironment, and/or platform (e.g., computer and/or network operatingsystem).

The example embodiment of the present invention may organize all or partof an application into one or more packages because packages may be moreeasily and rapidly distributed over a communications network than theentire application from which the package originates. Packagedistribution over a communications network, according to the exampleembodiment, may use fewer network resources and may use those resourcesmore efficiently.

Additionally, the size and/or proprietary nature of an application maylimit its distribution and/or execution on a target computer node (alsoreferred to as a target node). In the example embodiment of the presentinvention, essential (i.e., relevant) and/or non-proprietary part(s) ofan application (e.g., an EIS) may be distributed over a communicationsnetwork and executed on one or more target odes. According thisembodiment, these distributed packages may execute under a moredesirable client-specific environment closer to or on the enddestination computer node.

In a one embodiment, the relevant system parts (i.e., packages) aredistributed so that they are physically closer to the intended target(s)(i.e., target nodes and clients). Since only the packages aredistributed close to the target(s), less storage is need at, or near,the target as compared to the case where the entire system (e.g., anEIS) is distributed. Distributing only the essential portions of thesystem required by the target and placing those essential portions incloser physical proximity to the target results in a faster and morereliable execution at the target. This is because network errors anddelays are reduced because much less of the network is used during theexecution of the packages on the target.

A benefit of distributing these packages is that the integrity (i.e.,the security, transactions, and coherence) of the source environment(e.g., EIS) may be maintained at one or more of the targets (e.g.,target nodes and/or clients) while the original package (i.e.,subapplication or system part) remains on the source (EIS). Therefore,the infrastructure to maintain the packages can be reduced by locatingthe distributed packages at one or more of the clients since more of theclient resources are used to support the source resources allowing theresources of the source to be used more efficiently.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a package may be transformedin order to operate on a target computer node. A target computer nodemay consist of a hardware and software environment/platform differentfrom the environment/platform for which the application is designedand/or programmed. For example, if an application is designed and/orprogrammed to execute on Sun®'s Solaris™ operating environment runningIBM®'s DB2™ database software and using the BEA WebLogic Server™, apackage (i.e., subapplication) of the application may be transformed torun on Microsoft®'s Windows NT™ operating system running Hypersonic SQL™database software using the JBose™ Web application server and Apache'sJakarta Tomcat™ software. In another example, an application designedand/or programmed to execute on the HP-UX operating environment runningOracIe®'s database software using Netscape Enterprise Server softwaremay be partitioned into a package transformed for a computer node usingthe Macintosh operating system (“MacOS”) running W3C®'s Jigsaw Webserver platform using Microsoft®'s FoxBASE+™ database software. Theseexamples illustrate the transformation of a package from the originalapplication environment/platform to the suitable environment/platformfor the target computer node to which the package will be distributedaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1G is a diagram illustrating the conceptual association of one ormore system parts to one or more target nodes (e.g., nodes, clients, andother targets) using an engagement table. The association of a systempart 100G with a target node 150G in an engagement table may facilitatethe distribution of that system part 100G to the proper destination—thetarget node 150G. This association, also described as an “engagement”,can take many embodiments. In its most simple embodiment, one systempart 100G is engaged to one target node 150G (e.g., a computing device).In another embodiment, one system part 100G is engaged to more than onetarget node 150G. In another embodiment, many system parts 100G areengaged to one target node 150G. In another embodiment, many systemparts 100G are engaged to many target computing devices 150G.

In an alternative embodiment, one or more target nodes (e.g., targetcomputing devices) may be identified, addressed, and/or organized intoclasses. Such classes may reflect geographic, logical, businesscategory-based, and/or any other general class relationships. Theseclasses may contain subclasses in a hierarchical relationship. Thetarget nodes 110G in these classes may be engaged together to one ormore system parts 100G.

In an alternative embodiment, one or more system parts 100G can beidentified, addressed, and/or organized into classes. Such classes canreflect technical requirement, business purpose, or any other generalclass relationships. These classes may contain subclasses in ahierarchical relationship. The system parts 100G in these classes may beengaged together to one or more target computing devices 150G.

In the example embodiment, these engagements are achieved through use ofan engagement table data structure.

FIG. 1H is a block diagram illustrating an engagement table according toone embodiment of the present invention. The engagement table 100H maycontain a plurality of system part 120H to target node 130H pairs calledengagement pairs 110H. Each engagement pair 110H may represent arelationship between one system part and one target node (e.g.,computing device). One to many relationships may be defined usingmultiple engagement pairs 110H. Each engagement pair may contain aunique part identifier 120H of the system part. For example, a partidentifier 120H include system name, subsystem name, application name,component name, module name, function name, a fully qualified address,and any other identifier capable of uniquely identifying the respectivesystem part on the network. Each engagement pair may also contain atarget identifier 130H of the target node. For example, a targetidentifier 130H may include a target ID, a client ID, an internetprotocol address (IP address), a network name address, node ID, and/orany other identifier capable of uniquely identifying the respectivetarget node on the network.

In the example embodiment of the present invention, a package may be aportion of an application partitioned according to some packageboundary. This package boundary may be defined according to, forexample, an Application Programming Interface (“API”), an applicationcomponent boundary, an Internet protocol boundary, and/or any otherlogical program/software division in the parent application (e.g., anedge of an application program call graph).

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a package boundarymay be defined according to at least one of an open API, a proprietaryAPI made available to a user/developer, or some other extensionframework. For example, a TCP/IP standard library, a C/C++ library, aCORBA library, Java™ Servlets, JavaServer Pages™ (“JSP”), EnterpriseJavaBeans™ (“EJB”), Java™ DataBase Connectivity (“JDBC”), Java™Messaging Service (“JMS”), Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”), HyperTextTransfer Protocol (“HTTP”), and Wireless Markup Language (“WML”) may allbe examples of an open API that may serve as part or all of a packageboundary according to one embodiment of the present invention. A Java 2Platform Enterprise Edition™ (“J2EE”), a Microsoft Foundation Class(“MFC”), a Component Object Model (“COM”), a Distributed ComponentObject Model (“DCOM”), an Oracle® Call Interface (“OCI”), an Oracle®Pro*C library, and an Informix® ESQL C library may all be examples aproprietary API that may serve as part or all of a package boundaryaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. Examples of anextension framework that may serve as part or all of a package boundaryaccording to one embodiment of the present invention may include a Unixshell script, a Windows batch file, an IBM® Customer Information ControlSystem (“CICS”) transaction processing program, an IBM® Job ControlLanguage (“JCL”) file, a Visual Basic® script, and a Visual Basic®program and/or procedure.

An asset may be a logical organization of information (e.g., softwareand data) that may serve as all or part of a package according to oneembodiment of the present invention. A package structure may be composedof one or more assets (further described below) and a package boundarymay be defined according to the boundaries of these component assetsaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. An asset boundary,like a package boundary, may be defined according to, for example, anopen API, a proprietary API, an extension framework, an applicationcomponent boundary, an Internet protocol boundary, a logicalprogram/software division in the application, and an edge of anapplication program call graph for the given application according to anexample embodiment of the present invention.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, various kinds ofassets may be used in a package. For example, as described below, staticcontent assets, dynamic content assets, Enterprise JavaBeans™ assets,relational data assets (including reference data assets and entity dataassets), Java™ class assets, and Non-Java™ assets are all possible typesof assets that may be used according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

A static content (“SC”) asset may include information that remainsconstant over time according to one embodiment of the present invention.For example, an SC asset may include a distinct file that may betransferred from an HTTP server (e.g., a Web server) to an HTTP client(e.g., a Web browser) according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. According to this example, the asset boundary of the staticcontent asset may be the HTTP protocols necessary to move the SC assetfrom the HTTP server to the HTTP client. These boundaries may define anasset as a SC asset. According to one embodiment of the presentinvention, an SC asset may include, for example, an HTML file for a Webpage, an image (e.g., a JPEG image), a movie, an animation, and/or anaudio file (e.g., an MP3 file).

A dynamic content (“DC”) asset may include information that changes overtime according to one embodiment of the present invention. For example,a DC asset may include a Java™ servlet and/or a JavaServer Page™(“JSP”). A Java servlet may be a single class file that may produce anHTML response to an HTTP request. The asset boundaries of a Java™Servlet may be the boundaries defined by the Java™ Servlet API for theservlet components such as, for example, the class (i.e., the classfile), the Java™ Servlet code, and deployment descriptor information. AJSP may be an eXtensible Markup Language (“XML”) file compiled atruntime into a servlet according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. Therefore, the asset boundary of a JSP may also be defined bythe Java™ Servlet API and/or the JSP specification. According to the oneembodiment of the present invention, a DC asset may include, forexample, a JSP, a Java Servlet, a Microsoft® Active Server Page (“ASP”),deployment descriptor information (e.g., optional information that maybe associated with a JSP and/or Java™ Servlet), PHP (HypertextPreprocessor), a Common Gateway Interface (“CGI”) program/script, and/ora Cold Fusion program.

An Enterprise JavaBean™ (“EJB”) asset may include a JavaBean™ such as aSession Bean (“SB”) and an Entity Bean (“EB”) according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The asset boundaries of an EJBasset may be the boundaries defined by the EJB specification. The EJBspecification describes home class files (e.g., skeletons), remote classfiles (e.g., stubs), and implementation class files which may associatedwith each other and incorporated in an EJB. The EJB specification alsodescribes deployment descriptor information associated with these classfiles. The deployment descriptor information may also be included in anEJB. An EJB may be used, for example, as part of or in support of thebusiness logic in a work flow system; a pricing algorithm; an inventorymanagement system; a purchasing system; dynamic customer, inventory,and/or pricing data; and/or other e-business systems according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

A relational data asset may include relational database relatedinformation such as a reference data (“RD”) asset and an entity data(“ED”) asset according to one embodiment of the present invention.According to this embodiment, the data in a relational data asset maycontain a complete set or a subset of the data in one or more tables ofa relational database at some given time. This relational data may beobtained through a database query such as, for example, an SQL query. Arelational data asset may include data relating to inventory, pricing,product, customer, weather, raw materials, employees, other businessdata, and/or other personal data according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

A Java™ Class (“JC”) asset may include a Java™ class according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The asset boundaries of a JC assetmay be the boundaries defined by the Java™ class creator according tothe Java™ specification. A JC asset may be used for any purposepermitted by the Java™ specification according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

A Non-Java™ (“NJ”) asset may include non-Java™ based software code suchas, for example, a program, procedure, subprogram, and/or script,according to one embodiment of the present invention. The assetboundaries of an NJ asset may be determined by the control paths (e.g.,edges) of the call graph for the software code (e.g., a program).According to one embodiment, an NJ asset may include software code(e.g., a program, subprogram, procedure, and/or script) written, forexample, using the C, C++, Smalltalk, Visual Basic®, Perl, and/or otherprogramming language.

Assets may be categorized by their purpose according to one embodimentof the present invention. For example, an asset that is used to presentinformation to a user (e.g., display or print information at a targeteddestination computer) may be categorized as a presentation componentasset. The presentation component asset category may include DC, EJB,EB, and SB assets according to one embodiment of the present invention.In another example, an asset that operates on information to cause somechange to the information may be categorized as a transaction componentasset. The transaction component asset category may include DC, EJB, EB,and SB assets when they are used for transaction purposes according toone embodiment of the present invention. In a third example, an assetthat contains and/or manages data (e.g., data from a database) may becategorized as a relational data asset. The relational data assetcategory may include RD and ED assets according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. Other asset categories may exist in other embodimentsof the present invention. A package may or may not be capable of acomplete execution without the rest of the application. Afterdistribution, the package may execute on its own, may execute on its ownand exchange information with the rest of the application or otherpackages, or may execute in conjunction with the application (or otherpackages of the application) that are executing at different locations(e.g., different sources, targets, middleware servers, proxy servers,etc.) on the network, i.e. in a distributed execution over the network.

A package may be categorized by type and/or a set of types according toone embodiment of the present invention. A package may include one ormore assets and a package may have a package type defined by the type ortypes of the package's component assets. An asset type is an identifierof an asset, typically determined by a boundary of the asset, asdescribed above. The asset type of the asset may also determine whatinformation (e.g. extended environment) that the asset, and hence thepackage, need to execute on any given remote target environment. Apackage specification includes a description of the package structure,including the package type(s).

One novel feature of this disclosure is that packages are structurescontaining one or more assets each of a particular asset type. In a oneembodiment, a package may contain data assets with one or more dataasset types (e.g., a relational database asset type) along with one ormore other assets that are not of a data asset type. In an alternativeembodiment, a package may contain one or more dynamic content (DC)assets, with one or more assets that are not dynamic content (DC)assets. In other embodiments, assets of different asset types may beincluded in the same package. For example, an asset in the presentationcomponent category (e.g., a DC asset) or a relational data category(e.g., a reference data asset) could be included with an asset not inthose respective categories. In another example, a package may includestatic content assets and presentation component assets. According tothe example embodiment of the present invention, a package, even withassets of dissimilar (category) asset types, may be distributed across anetwork and execute and/or function on any given target that contains abase environment suitable for the package.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram depicting a conceptual structure of an assetaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 depicts anasset 200 along with a Base Environment (“BE”) layer 240 with which theasset 200 interacts according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. In the example embodiment, an asset 200 may include twolayers: a logic/data layer (“LD”) 210 and an extended environment (“EE”)layer 220. According to the example embodiment, an optional AssetInterface (“AI”) layer 230 (discussed below) may also be included for anasset. In one embodiment, the asset type may determine what the minimumrequirements are for the EE layer 220 so that the asset 200 can properlyfunction on any given BE 250 of any given target. In alternativeembodiments (as described below) the EE 220 is a data structurecontaining descriptors and/or other information required during one ormore steps in the life cycle of the asset.

The logic/data layer 210 may include software code (e.g., thealgorithmic logic) and/or data that embodies the asset purpose orfunction. In one embodiment, the LD layer 210 may include subsystems,applications, subapplications, components, modules, functions,variables, and data in any language. In another embodiment, the LD layer210 may use an object-oriented language that may include a components, amodule, a function, a class, a method, and a data member. In anotherembodiment, where the object-oriented language is Java™ language based,the LD layer 210 may include a Java™ Archive File (“JAR”), a Java™package, and a Java™ class. In another embodiment, where theobject-oriented language is Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition™ (“J2EE”)based, the LD layer 210 may further include a JSP, a Java™ servlet, andan EJB. LD layer 210 data may include any type of data structureincluding that data stored in a relational database, an object-orienteddatabase, serialized objects, hierarchical database, and/or flat file.The LD layer 210 may be any combination of logic (e.g., software) anddata such as, for example, logic and no data, logic and data, or dataand no logic. In the example embodiment, the LD layer 210 may be asubset of one or more EIS.

In one embodiment, the EE layer 220 may be a subset of an application,such as an EIS, and may include those portions of the application thatmay be necessary to support the LD layer 210 of an asset 200. Accordingto this embodiment, the content of the EE layer 220 for an asset 200 maydepend on the content of the LD layer 210 for that asset 200. Forexample, if the LD layer 210 contains an EJB, the corresponding EE layer220 may contain the proxy skeletons and stubs, J2EE deploymentdescriptors, DataSource references, and JNDI entries associated with theEJB. In another example, if the LD layer 210 contains data, the EE layer220 may contain relational database data.

The EE layer 220, by supporting the LD layer 210, may also enable the LDlayer 210 to operate on different hardware, software, and/or environment(collectively “environment”) according to the example embodiment. Forexample, the EE layer 220 may include a sufficient amount of theapplication (e.g., the EIS) to allow the LD layer 210 to operate in atarget environment.

Where differences exist between a source and target environment, the EElayer 220 may be transformed in order for the asset 200 to operateappropriately in the target environment according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. In another embodiment, the EE layer 220 may betransformed into an intermediate “neutral” format that is notspecifically tailored to a source and/or target environment. Thisintermediate neutral format of the EE layer 220 may facilitate furthertransformation of the EE layer 220 for a target environment.

The intermediate neutral format may be an intermediate transformation ofthe EE layer 220 between a proprietary source format and a proprietarytarget format according to one embodiment. For example, an EJB asset 200may be in an intermediate neutral format when the EE layer 220 of theasset 200 has neither the proprietary parts of the source environmentnor the proprietary parts of the target environment. For instance, J2EEdeployment descriptors may have proprietary sections that may be vendorspecific and they may also include other nonproprietary (e.g., publiclydefined) sections as well. In an intermediate neutral format, the EElayer 220 may contain nonproprietary information associated with theJ2EE deployment descriptors that is used in the transformation of the EElayer 220.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the EE layer220 may include a data structure containing one or more descriptors thatmay be used during one or more steps of the asset life cycle discussedbelow. In one embodiment, a distinct EE layer 220 may be associated witheach unique BE layer 240. An AI layer 230 may exist between the EE layer220 of an asset 200 and the BE layer 240 according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. The AI layer 230 may enable the passing ofinformation between the EE layer 220 and the BE layer 240. In oneembodiment, the AI layer 230 may provide a standard interface betweenthe asset 200 and/or asset adapter (discussed below) and the BE layer240. In the example embodiment, the AI layer 230 may be a commoninterface available to the asset 200. According to one embodiment, adistinct AI layer 230 may be associated with each unique BE layer 240and an AI layer 230 may exist for each BE layer 240 that corresponds toan asset adapter.

The BE layer 240 is not part of an asset but may enable an asset tooperate in a target environment other than the source environment of theapplication (e.g., EIS) from which the asset derives according to theone embodiment of the present invention. For example, the BE layer 240may include Web tier services, middleware component services, and/ordatabase services. In another example, the BE layer 240 may include allor part of a Java™ Virtual Machine, a Web server engine, a Java™ Servletengine, an EJB container, a database management system (“DBMS”), and/ora relational database management system (“RDBMS”).

An asset 200 may be defined as some meaningful partitioning (logic/datalayer 210) of an application from the source environment combined withpart of the source environment (the extended environment layer 220) thatis needed to run that partition of the application. Thus, in this case,both the LD layer 210 and the EE layer 220 are parts of the sourceenvironment (e.g. an EIS) that are selected so that the asset 200 can bedistributed across a network, particularly across network tiers, and sothat the asset 200 can perform the asset purpose or function (thepurpose or function that the asset/LD layer 210 was designed to performon its respective source environment) on any given target (e.g. remote,computer environment and/or platform).

As previously stated, an asset may be categorized by the content and/orpurpose of the asset according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. This asset categorization or asset type may be used tocorrelate an asset with an asset adapter. An asset adapter may be alogical designation for a set of functions that enable an asset toprogress through an asset lifecycle (described below) according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The asset lifecycle is a set oftransformations of the asset 200 as it moves from the source environment(e.g. one or more EIS), into the distribution environment (e.g. one ormore distribution servers), to one or more target environments (e.g. oneor more clients/nodes), and optionally back to the source environment(possibly back through the distribution environment) according to oneembodiment of the present invention. These transformations may be causedby several asset adapters and may depend on the type of the asset 200.(See below for further description of asset adapters.)

A single asset 200 may contain all the elements, such as data orinformation, necessary to package, move, transport, and restore theasset to its original state (that state in its source location) whileand/or after moving the asset from the source location to the one ormore target locations (and optionally back) so that the asset canperform the asset purpose or function on the target. Thus an asset 200is able to maintain its relationship with the environment in which theasset is expected to perform the asset purpose or function acrossdifferent environments or platforms. In one embodiment, the asset 200may have the minimal application logic and extended environment (e.g.,execution/transaction/security context and state) necessary to performthe asset purpose or function on one or more targets.

As previously stated, an asset has an asset boundary used to define theasset, as in the example of a JavaBean™ or EJB. Additionally, the assetmay represent the state behind a well-known functional interface, suchas data that would be accessed through a standard set of calls (e.g.,JDBC interface calls). If the JDBC interface is viewed as a discrete setof objects, the state may correspond to the relational data in the datasource (e.g. a relational database).

The following table provides example of different types of assets alongwith examples of the possible constituent parts for each asset typeaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. The “algorithmiclogic & data” content of the asset may correspond to the LD layer of theasset. The “extended environment” content of the asset may correspond tothe EE layer 220 of the asset. The “base environment” may correspond tocontent in the BE layer 250 when a BE layer 250 is provided for theasset. As previously stated, a BE layer 250 may be provided on a targetcomputer for the asset in order to allow the asset to properly operateaccording to the example embodiment of the present invention. In oneembodiment, a BE layer 250 may be sent to a target computer as one ormore assets.

Examples of asset types and their constituent parts. Algorithmic LogicAsset Type & Data Extended Environment Base Environment Base CDS AdapterAdapter Class Version Information CDS Client Files Licensing InformationAgentJVM Java Static HTML Page Web Server Aliases Web Server ContentStatic GIF Image Web Server Content JSP JSP Page JNDI Entries JVMServlet Engine Java Class Class File JNDI Entries JVM File Session EJBEJB Stub and Skeleton JVM EJB Bean Implementation Deployment DescriptorApplication Server JNDI Entries Entity Bean EJB EJB Stub and SkeletonJVM EJB Implementation Deployment Descriptor Application Server Databased on JNDI Entries Table DBMS query Schema Reference Data based onTable Schema DBMS Data query Entity Data Data based on Table Schema DBMSquery Non-Java SmallTalk Image Image SmallTalk VM C++ Executable, orRegistry Entries Operating System Dynamic Library Environment Variablesor Platform Emulator Perl Perl Script Environment Variables PerlInterpreter Non- Music MP3 File Album and track MP3 Player Languageinformation. Video MPEG File Production Notes MPEG Player Documents PDFFile Authentication PDF Viewer Certificate

Assets 200 may comprise many types (asset types), including: staticcontent (SC), dynamic content (DC), JavaBeans™ (JB), session bean (SB),entity bean (EB), reference data (RD), entity data (ED), namingdirectory, and many more according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. Static content (“SC”) assets may include information thatdoesn't change in a program and/or display according to one embodimentof the present invention. SC assets may be cached in a local, e.g.client memory, for re-use so that the asset doesn't have to be resentover the network each time it is used. Examples of static content assetsmay include html files, gif files, and jpeg files.

Dynamic content (“DC”) assets may include information that changes overtime according to one embodiment of the present invention. Often thisinformation is displayed/provided with SC assets. Typically, the DC andDC asset is produced in real-time or at the time of use. For example, aweather map of the United States might be locally cached as SC but thetemperature in New York City is DC that is continually updated in timeas numeric data that is displayed on the map near the location of NYC.In a financial application, forms or format for accounts (e.g. loanapplications, mortgage applications, stock/financial instrumentportfolios, bank statements, a service or product advertisement, etc.)may be provided as SC in an SC asset while the offerings and/or value ofparticular financial assets is provided as changing DC (e.g., interestrate, stock price, an account balance, or a cost of service or product)in a DC asset. The DC asset could be a presentation component asset typecategory, a transactional component asset type category, and/or anotherasset type category depending on the function performed by the DC.

A JavaBean™ (“JB”) is a well-known Java class file that follows theconvention for Java Beans. The convention specifies how to name themethods in order for third party tools to provide automated processesfor the class. In this disclosure, “JavaBeans™” and JB asset may be usedto sometimes indicate a general Java™ class.

A Session Bean (“SB”) is a well-known Enterprise JavaBean™ that isintended to be coupled with a client session. The SB is well defined inmany books and the EJB specification. An SB asset could be apresentation component asset type category, a transactional componentasset type category, and/or another asset type category depending on thefunction performed by the SB asset.

An Entity Bean (“EB”) is an Enterprise JavaBean™ that is intended torepresent a unique piece of data that can only be accessed by one clientat a time. The EB is well defined in many books and the EJBspecification. The EB asset could be a presentation component asset typecategory, a transactional component asset type category, and/or anotherasset type category depending on the function performed by the EB.

The term Reference Data (“RD”) refers to a set of database records thatare intended to be accessed in a read-only manner according to oneembodiment of the present invention. These records are intended for“reference” purposes, and may be sent to the client or an intermediatetarget in order to be accessed as an application executes. The same RDasset may be sent to several targets without worrying about the overlapin data that different targets have. This safety is due to the fact thatthe data will not change.

The term Entity Data (“ED”) describes data that is like RD except thatthe ED is expected to change according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. ED assets may be treated differently than RD assets becauseof the problems inherent in the synchronization of data that has beenreplicated to different targets. It may not be apparent how changes inthe same data should be synchronized on the back-end database fromseveral targets. For example, do you allow target 1 to update a record,then allow target 2 to update the same record, even when target 2 didnot have the changes made by target 1 when it made its update on theremote node? Therefore, by creating a distinct asset type, the integrityof the data as it moves through the system may be enforced.

Both the ED asset and RD asset are relational data, e.g. in therelational data asset type category. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, a package may contain both assets of a relational data typeand assets other than relational data assets. In another embodiment, oneor more RD assets and/or ED asset may be combined with any combinationof SB, EB, and JSP assets.

As stated above, a package structure may contain one or more assets of afirst asset type or category of asset type and one or more assets of asecond asset type that are not of the first type or category accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. Assets with third, forth,etc. asset types or category of asset types may also be included in thepackage structure according to other embodiments of the presentinvention. For example, a package may include one or more first assetsfrom the relational data asset category (e.g., ED and/or RD assets) andone or more second assets from the presentation component asset typecategory (e.g., DC, JB, SB, and/or EB assets). In another example, oneor more third assets from the transactional component asset typecategory may also be added (e.g. DC, JB, SB, and/or EB assets). Inanother example, one or more SC assets may be added to the packagestructure or may replace the transactional component asset type categoryasset in the package structure.

In an alternative embodiment, the package structure can be a combinationof first assets with a static content asset type and second assetshaving a presentation component asset type (e.g., DC, JB, SB, and/or EBasset). Furthermore, an optional third asset may have a relational dataasset type (e.g., ED and/or RD asset) and an optional forth asset mayhave a transaction component asset type (e.g., DC, JB, SB, and/or EBasset) according to one embodiment.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the presentationcomponent asset type may be used to generate content and/or performalgorithmic logic (e.g., execute program code) associated with themanipulation and/or validation of user interface data and/or content.This content may include: HTML, Gif, JPEG, WML, and XML, and any othergeneral markup language content. In one embodiment, the presentationcomponent asset type is a dynamic content asset.

FIG. 2B shows a preferred description of an asset lifecycle 240L. Theasset lifecycle is a description of the asset, and changes to the asset,as the asset moves across tiers of the network onto different computerplatforms and environments.

The asset goes through a lifecycle 240L starting in the source tier,moving through the deployment tier, into the target tier, and thenoptionally back through the deployment tier to the source tier and/orcan move to any other node or nodes in the network if required. Theasset adapter methods are used in one or more of the steps in thislifecycle. In one embodiment, an asset type specific processing isrequired for the asset to continue through the lifecycle. In somepreferred embodiments, information contained in the EE 220 is modifiedby one or more of these adapters to enable the asset to continue throughthe life cycle.

In a preferred embodiment, assets 240 are “discovered” in the sourceenvironment (tier) 910 by an asset adapter called the discovery assetadapter method 2100 (see FIGS. 19A-19B below). In alternativeembodiments (FIG. 19D) the discovery asset adapter method identifies andcreates the digital asset 240, creates an intermediate representation2100C of a computer system part 100F, adds the asset to an AssetInventory 2100D, and writes asset descriptors into the EE 220.Optionally, an asset description data structure 1170 is created.

In a preferred embodiment, an “export asset adapter method” (see FIG.14B) identifies and exports candidates for classification as assets 240and together as packages. In this preferred embodiment, the export assetadapter method 1600 (see FIG. 14B below) is used to obtain the actualcurrent version of assets in the source tier that needs to bedistributed to the target tier. After the assets are exported, theassets are moved to the deployment or distribution tier 960 andtypically stored in an asset cache 961. When exporting assets, theexport asset adapter method captures the logic, data, 210 and extendedenvironment information 220 for an asset 240 and puts it into an assetdata structure 240 where the asset type is also identified.

In another preferred embodiment, the export asset adapter method (seeFIGS. 14C-14D) takes the Asset Inventory 2100D and the intermediaterepresentation 2100C and prepares a preliminary package specification1650B. The asset data structure and EE 220 of the digital asset 240 arealso updated.

A package specification 1400 (see FIG. 12 below) is created that in turncontains asset specifications 700 (SEE FIG. 5). In a preferredembodiment, the asset specification 700 is stored in the deployment tieruntil a package 1400 is scheduled to be delivered.

In an alternative embodiment, a packaging agent takes the preliminarypackage specification 1500A and creates a finalized packagespecification data structure. In a preferred embodiment, both thepreliminary package specification 1500A and the finalized packagespecification 1500A have the same data structure, comprising an ExtendedEnvironment-Package data structure 1120A and one or more AssetIdentifiers 1514 (see FIG. 13A).

The optional version asset adapter method 1660 (see FIG. 14A below) isused to determine the current version information of the assets 240 inthe source tier. In a preferred embodiment, this version information iscompared with the target tier asset version information in thedeployment tier to determine if assets need to be deployed from thesource tier to the target tier.

If an asset requires processing the processing may be done when theasset is stored in the asset cache 961 or at any time before the assetis distributed to either a secondary cache in thedeployment/distribution tier 960 or the target tier. The processing isprimarily performed on the asset's extended environment 220, in anattempt to translate the extended environment 220 to run in harmony withthe base environment 250 in the target tier. However, the processingprocess (see FIG. 16 below) may also change the logic/data portion ofthe asset or both the logic/data and the extended environment portion ofthe asset.

An agent 1400 in the target environment requests the assets that arepending in the CDS/ADS cache for delivery to the target tier are in factdelivered to the respective target.

In a preferred embodiment, the target processing asset adapter method1900 (see FIG. 17 below) is executed on the CDS/ADS tier against anyasset 240, (typically cached in the CDS/ADS cache) that requirestargeted processing before being sent to the target tier 935. Targetprocessing is intended primarily to change the Logic/Data section 210 ofthe asset data structure 240 in order to provide a unique asset that cancreate or has personalized information for one or more specific targets(typically 940) on the target tier 935 on which the asset 240 is beingdeployed. The processed asset 240P therefore can have a changedLogic/Data section 210P. However, the processed asset 240P could have achanged extended environment section 220P or both parts (210P and 220P)can be changed. In other cases, neither the Logic/Data section (210,210P) nor the extended environment (220, 220P) will be changed. Theprocessed asset 240P is typically stored in the CDS/ADS cache 961.

In some embodiments, a targeting process adapter 1900 can target to anintermediate target (a server that will in turn server many users) or afinal target (a single node that will serve a single user).

When the asset is sent to the target tier, the deploy asset adaptermethod 1700 (see FIG. 15A below) is invoked to deploy the asset (240,240P) into the computational environment, i.e., the base environment250, in the target tier. The extended environment 220P from the asset'sdata structure 240P is used to set the base environment 250 and extendedenvironment 220P in the target tier to run the asset 240P in a correctmanner. The asset's logic and data 210 are then deployed into the baseenvironment 250, and since the environment has been adjusted, the logic210 will function correctly and the data 210 will be accessible.

When changes happen in the target tier 935 that warrant synchronization,the synchronization asset adapter method 2000 (see FIGS. 18A-18B below)is executed to create a synchronization asset 240S that is propagatedback through the deployment/distribution tier 960 (optionally) and theninto the source tier 910. The source tier resource (asset) thatcorresponds to the synchronization asset is synchronized with theinformation in the synchronization asset 240S.

FIG. 2C is a block diagram of a preferred extended environment (EE) 220of any general digital asset 240. The extended environment datastructure 220 is part of the digital asset 240 that is capable of beingtransmitted over one or more multi-tiered networks. A preferredembodiment of the EE 220 is written in XML (extended markup language).An example of a preferred EE 220 written in XML is given below withassociate reference numbers that refer to FIG. 2C.

The EE 220 has one or more common descriptors 210B, one or more assetdependency descriptors 222B, and one or more target server dependencies226B. In an alternative preferred embodiment, the EE 220 additionallyhas one or more EIS server dependencies 224B. In other preferredembodiments, additional descriptors are added as described below.

The common descriptors 210B provide a unique identification of thedigital asset 240 on the networks. Examples of common descriptors 210Binclude any one or more of the following: a digital asset name of thedigital asset, a unique fully qualified name of the digital asset, anaddress of the digital asset, a size of the digital asset, a volatilitydescriptor of the digital asset, a common runnable descriptor of thedigital asset, a user type descriptor of the digital asset, a securitydescriptor of the digital asset, and a price descriptor of the digitalasset.

The asset dependency descriptors 222B identify one or more associateddigital assets 240. The associated digital assets are those digitalassets 240 that are associated with the digital asset 240 that containsthe subject EE 220. In a preferred embodiment, this association definesa joint membership of the digit asset 240 and the associated digitalassets as parts of a whole. See above.

Examples of the asset dependency descriptors 222B include any one ormore of the following: one or more names of the other digital assets onwhich the respective digital asset is dependent; any general assetidentifier, and/or one or more unique fully qualified names of otherdigital assets on which the digital asset is dependent.

The associate digital assets 240 and the digit asset 240 have jointmembership in a whole that defines a part-whole relationship. In apreferred embodiment, the whole is defined by a graph. Graphs arewell-known in the computer arts and define physical and/or logicalassociations among the digital assets 240 in the whole. In a morespecific preferred embodiment, the graph is any one or more of thefollowing: a containment graph, a tube graph, a call graph, and a purerepresentation expressible as a graph.

In some preferred embodiments, the whole is embodied as a package. Thisis a physical and/or logical association. In a preferred embodiment, theEE 220 has package relationship descriptors 285B that represents apart-whole relationship between the digital asset 240 and one or morepackages containing the digital asset.

In some embodiments, the package relationship descriptors represent atleast the following three relationships in the part-whole relationship:a mandatory part-whole relationship, a shared part-whole relationship,and a root part-whole relationship.

A mandatory part-whole relationship is defined here as an invariantrelationship between a specific digital asset and a specific package.That is, the specific package does not possess the property ofcorrectness unless the specific digital asset is included. In analternative embodiment, this relationship can further imply theexistence of the other digital assets that are members of the specificpackage at a given location on the network when the specific digitalasset is established to exist at that location.

A shared part-whole relationship is defined here, in a preferredembodiment, as a component-integral relationship between a specificdigital asset and one or more specific packages. That is, the specificdigital asset may be included in one or more packages. Thecomponent-integral relationship indicates that the digital asset bears aparticular functional or structural relationship with each of the one ormore specific packages. The shared relationship descriptor indicates thecomponent-integral form of the relationship. In an alternativeembodiment, the shared relationship descriptor can indicate that thespecific digital asset has a member-collection relationship with one ormore specific packages. That is, the digital asset may be included in acollection of digital assets comprising one or more specific packages.

A root part-whole relationship is defined here as a non-mandatory “base”or “foundation” relationship between a specific digital asset and one ormore specific packages of varying composition. See Winston, M. E., etal., “A Taxonomy of Part-Whole Relations”, Cognitive Science, 11, 1987,pp. 417-444, which is herein incorporated in its entirety, and otherwell-known works on this topic.

The EE 220 includes one or more base environment descriptors 225B (e.g.,target server dependencies descriptors 226B) that identify a baseexecution environment on one or more target computers. The baseexecution environment 250 is required to execute the digital asset 240on any given target computer 830 to which the digital asset 240 isdistributed. The base execution environment 250 has zero or more otherdigital assets 240. In one embodiment, one or more of the other digitalassets 240 are deployed to the respective target computer from one ormore or the Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) 810 to create the baseenvironment 250. In one preferred embodiment, the minimum complement ofother digital assets required to utilize the respective digital asset atthe target are deployed to create the base environment on the target.

In a preferred embodiment, the digital assets deployed to the targetcomputer from the EIS to create the minimum base environment are namedas the target server dependencies in the EE 220. These target serverdependencies can include any one or more of the following: one or moredatabase management systems (DBMS), one or more browsers, one or moreJava™ Virtual Machine (JVM) instantiations, one or more operatingsystems, and other systems 105F, sub-systems 106F, applications 108,sub-applications 110F, components 120F, modules 130F, and/or functions140F. When such system part is named in one of the target serverdependencies descriptors 226B for the digital asset, the packagingprocess (see below) will perform a lookup of a pre-prepared manifest forthat respective system part and incorporate digital assets to deploy therespective system part 100F.

In an alternative embodiment, the EE 220 has one or more EIS serverdependencies descriptors 224B. The EIS server dependencies descriptors224B identify an EIS execution environment required on the EIS 810 inorder to ensure correct utilization of the digital asset on the EIS. TheEIS execution environment is that set of EIS systems 105F, EISsub-systems 106F, EIS applications 108, EIS sub-applications 110F, EIScomponents 120F, EIS modules 130F, and EIS functions 140F that thedigital asset 240 requires on the EIS 810 in order to ensure correctutilization of the digital asset on the EIS. The EIS server dependenciesdescriptors 224B can be used to ensure that digital assets that resideon the EIS will be correctly synchronized (see synchronization below)with digital assets deployed to one or more of the target systems.

Examples of EIS server dependencies 224B include one or more of thefollowing: EIS operating systems (in rare cases), EIS databasemanagement systems (DBMS), EIS servers, EIS application servers, EIS Webapplication servers, one or more accounting, customer relationshipmanagement (CRM) systems, business to business (B2B) systems (e.g.,supply chain management, etc.), business to customer (B2C) system (e.g.order fulfillment systems, electronic shopping systems, etc.), and oneor more message oriented middleware applications. Specific EIS serverdependencies 224B include one or more of the following: one or moreOracle® DBMS, one or more Sybase DBMS, and one or more DB2 DBMS.Further, one or more of the target server dependencies and one or moreof the EIS server dependencies can be compared to determine whether atransform of the digital asset is required for the asset to be deployedon the respective target computer (see below).

In one preferred embodiment, the EE 220 has one or more transformdescriptors 255B that facilitate and/or enable a transform of thedigital asset 240 from its form in the EIS execution environment to aform utilizable in the base execution environment 250. In a preferredembodiment, the transform descriptors 255B may include a propertiesdescriptor, a format descriptor, and a registry descriptor (e.g.primarily for Windows 32® systems).

The properties descriptor that provides information required for use ofthe digital asset on an operating system of the base executionenvironment 250. For example, the Sun Microsystem EJB API call,EJBContext.getEnvironment( ) method is optional in EJB version 1.1,which means that it may or may not be supported in a different baseexecution environment (i.e. a base execution environment supporting EJB1.0). In this example, a properties descriptor could indicate an actionto take (typically in the form of an exception) if the digital asset wasrequired to execute in an EJB 1.0 base execution environment. In thisexample embodiment, the values in the properties descriptor would beused to modify the base execution EJB 1.0 environment to handle this APIcall.

The format descriptor provides information required for use of thedigital asset on an operating system of the base execution environment250. For example, in order to perform one of the example transformsdescribed below, that is the transform of a UNIX plain text file to aform usable in a MS-DOS or Windows system, a key-word, such as UNIX-TEXTwould be set as the format descriptor, identifying the file as being inUNIX text format.

The registry descriptor provides information required for the digitalasset that is being deployed from (to) a non-Windows® EIS (baseexecution environment) to (from) a Windows® environment on the baseexecution environment (Windows® EIS environment). A “registry” is aWindows 32® operating system feature that is used by Windows® to managehardware and software under its control. The registry is presented, andcan be manipulated as a list of registry entries (e.g., text, etc.).Many Windows® programs require specific entries be inserted into theregistry for correct program operation.

The transformation of the digital asset could be a transformation ofdata in a logic/data section 210 of the digital asset 240. For example,if the digital asset 240 is a standard text file (see transform 255Bformat descriptors above), and if the EIS server dependency descriptors224B indicate the EIS has a UNIX environment, and if the target serverdependencies descriptors 226B indicate that the target has a DOSenvironment, then, the transformation would include insertion of the “̂M”character into the LD section 210 at the end of each line. Thistransformation can be initiated by a rule base system that has rulesthat apply to these conditions. See below.

The transformation of the digital asset could be a transformation oflogic in a logic/data section 210 of the digital asset 240. For example,one method to transform logic in a logic/data section 210 of the digitalasset 240 is to send the Java™ source code statements for the logicdigital asset to the target environment (or, alternatively on the CDS,DIS, below). In order to execute the Java™ language statements of aJava™ language program, the statements are interpreted and executed by aJava™ Runtime Compiler specific to a particular execution environment,e.g. an EIS environment or a target environment. If the common runnabledescriptor is set (indicating that the digital asset 240 is runnable),and if the runnable descriptor 240B (below) are set to values thatindicate that the EIS and target environments are different (forexample, Solaris® and Windows®), then a transform is effected by meansof the two Java™ Runtime Compiler instances, respectively on the EIS andtarget environment. The runnable object created by the Java™ RuntimeCompiler on the EIS is not the same as the runnable object created bythe Java™ Runtime Compiler on the target.

In another example, the Sun Microsystem EJB API call,EJBContext.getEnvironment( )method is optional in EJB version 1.1, whichmeans that it may or may not be supported in a different base executionenvironment (i.e. a base execution environment supporting EJB 1.0). Inthis example, the properties descriptor is used as described above torealize the transform of the logic digital asset from a form that couldonly run on EJB version 1.1 to a form that could run on EJB version 1.0.

In an alternative preferred embodiment, the EE 220 also has one or morereference descriptors 260B. In a preferred embodiment, the referencedescriptors 260B include any one or more of the following: a referencelink descriptor, a reference file descriptor, and a reference directorydescriptor. The reference link descriptor provides a World Wide Web(“WWW”) address that has contents used for processing of the digitalasset. The reference link descriptor provides a WWW address that hascontents used during execution of the digital asset. The reference filedescriptor is a unique fully qualified name of a file required forreference by the digital asset. The reference directory descriptorprovides an additional address information that is used to locate one ormore of the associated digital assets. For example, the additionaladdress information could include root or parent level directory names,which would, following well-known format, be combined with the leafdirectory level identification given in the common name descriptor tolocate and fully qualify the path information for the digital asset.

In an alternative preferred environment, the EE 220 further comprisesone or more asset type descriptors 230B. As a non-limiting example, theasset type descriptors 230B may describe any one or more of thefollowing asset types: static content (SC), dynamic content (DC),Enterprise JavaBeans™ (EJB), reference data (RD), session bean (SB),entity bean (EB), entity data (ED), Java™ class (JC), and JavaBeans™(JB). See above.

In an alternative preferred environment, the asset type descriptors 230Bcan be one or more asset category descriptors. Example asset categorydescriptors may include any one or more of the following: apresentational descriptor, a transactional descriptor, and a relationaldata descriptor. See above.

In an alternative preferred embodiment, the asset type descriptors 230Bcan be one or more asset class descriptors. Example asset classdescriptors may describe any one or more of the following: base, Java™,non-Java™, language, and non-language digital asset classes.

In an alternative preferred embodiment, the EE 220 further comprises oneor more package relationship descriptors 285B that represent apart-whole relationship between the digital asset 240 and one or morepackages (see below) containing the digital asset. The packagerelationship descriptors 285B represent at least the following threerelationships in the part-whole relationship: a mandatory part-wholerelationship, a shared part-whole relationship, and a root part-wholerelationship.

In an alternative preferred embodiment, the EE 220 further comprises oneor more security descriptors 280B. The security descriptors arewell-known and may describe any one or more of the following functions:encryption, authorization, and access control.

In an alternative preferred embodiment, the EE 220 further comprises oneor more runnable descriptors 240B. The runnable descriptors need onlyinclude a target execution environment for the digital asset 240. In analternative embodiment, the runnable descriptors 240B may include an EISexecution environment and a target execution environment for the digitalasset 240. In an alternate embodiment, as described above, if both theEIS execution environment runnable descriptor and the target executionenvironment runnable descriptor are both set, and their values aredifferent, the transform process may be invoked on the runnable digitalasset.

In an alternative preferred embodiment, the EE 220 further comprises oneor more non-runnable descriptors 242B. The non-runnable descriptors needonly include a target execution environment for the digital asset 240.In an alternative embodiment, the non-runnable descriptors 242B mayinclude a EIS execution environment and a target execution environmentfor the digital asset 240. In an alternate embodiment, as describedabove, if both the EIS execution environment non-runnable descriptor andthe target execution environment non-runnable descriptor are both set,and their values are different, the transform process may be invoked onthe non-runnable digital asset.

In an alternative embodiment, the EE 220 further comprises one or morepersonalization descriptors that enable the digital asset to becustomized upon delivery to one or more of the base executionenvironments. In a preferred embodiment, the personalization descriptorsinclude one or more data keys that establish a linkage among dataelements in the EIS execution environment. Alternatively, thepersonalization descriptors include one or more data keys that establisha linkage among logic elements in the EIS execution environment.

In an alternative embodiment, the EE 220 further comprises or morepricing descriptors 275B. The pricing descriptors describe informationabout any well-known general pricing information including one or moreof the following: a price, a price scheme (subscription, pay to own, payto use, one time payment), a payment detail, and payment method (check,credit card, card number).

In an alternative embodiment, the EE 220 further comprises one or moretarget information descriptors 270B. Target information descriptors 270Bcan give any general information about the targets and, by example, mayinclude any one or more of the following: a well-known user, ananonymous user, one or more user groups, an entire user group, a targetmachine, an identifiable segment of target machines, a collection oftarget machines, an internet protocol address mask, and a group oftarget computers in a node collection structure.

In an alternative embodiment, the EE 220 further comprising one or moreschema descriptors 250B. The schema descriptors provide information thatdescribes any or more of the following examples: database table namesand definitions, database column names and definitions, database keyidentifiers and value ranges, database view names and definitions, andother well-known database schema elements.

In an alternative embodiment, the EE 220 further comprises one or moremetadata descriptors 250B. The metadata descriptors 250B provideinformation that describe any or more of the following examples:repository object definitions, scope object definitions, module objectdefinitions, operation object definitions, exception object definitions,constant object definitions, properties object definitions, attributeobject definitions, relationship object definitions, type objectdefinitions, and other well-known metadata object definitions.

In one preferred embodiment, the EE 220 further comprises one or moredistribution logic descriptors 290B. The distribution logic descriptors290B describe or point to one or more transaction rules and one or moreconcurrency rules. The transactions rules specify any of a number and afrequency of times that the digital asset can be distributed to one ormore target computers. The concurrency rules specify whether or notthere are any restrictions on distribution of the digital asset withrespect to the distribution of one or more other digital assets.

For an example of a transaction rule, a well-known practice in thedistribution of priced digital assets is that buyers of such assets arepermitted up to some number of download attempts in the course ofrealizing internet-based delivery of a priced digital asset. Thispractice has been put in place to protect buyers from internetinfrastructure failures that result in a failure of the buyer to receiveall of the digital assets the buyer has purchased. Purchases of digitalassets are regarded as transactions in the well-known sense. The “up to[number]” practice represents a transaction rule to govern thatpurchase.

For an example of a concurrency rule, a well-known practice in theinternet-based distribution of software programs is that a user isblocked from downloading a certain version (for example, a “Release 4”version) of a software program while simultaneously downloading anincompatible version (for example, a “Release 5” version) of asub-component of such software program.

Other EE 220 descriptors are envisioned. As the digital asset 240 isdistributed over tiers of the network(s), the EE 220 can be sent overone or more network interfaces, received over one or more interfaces,and stored on one or more memories through out the network. Variousprocesses (e.g., discover, export, process, target, etc. below) willoperate on the EE 220 or use information in the EE to perform theirrespective functions. The following is an example preferred embodimentof the EE defined in FIG. 2C as an XML document:

<?xml version=“1.0” encoding=“ISO8859_1”?><!DOCTYPE dis-ee PUBLIC ‘-//International InteractiveCommerce, LLC//DTD Extended Environment//EN’‘http://www.iic-ltd.com/dis/dtds/iic_ee_1_1.dtd’> <extended_environment>  <common> 210B     <name></name>     <address></address>    <size></size>     <volatile></volatile>     <runnable></runnable>    <version></version>     <user_type></user_type>    <security></security>     <priced></priced>   </common>  <dependencies> 220B     <asset_dependencies> 222B      <asset></asset>     </asset_dependencies>    <eis_server_dependencies> 224B       <dbms></dbms>    </eis_server_dependencies>     <base_environment> 225B      <target_server_dependencies> 226B         <dbms></dbms>        <browser></browser>         <jvm></jvm>      </target_server_dependencies>     </base_environment>  </dependencies>   <type_descriptors> 230B     <type></type>    <category></category>     <class></class>   </type_descriptors>  <runnable> 240B    <eis_execution_environment></eis_execution_environment>    <target_execution_environment>     </target_execution_environment>  </runnable>   <non_runnable> 242B    <eis_execution_environment></eis_execution_environment>    <target_execution_environment>     </target_execution_environment>  </non_runnable>   <schema_and_metadata> 250B     <database>      <process_granularity_level>       </process_granularity_level>      <object_granularity></object_granularity>     </database>    <metadata></metadata>   </schema_and_metadata>   <transform> 255B    <properties></properties>     <registry_entries></registry_entries>    <format></format>   </transform>   <references> 260B    <reference_links></reference_links>    <reference_files></reference_files>    <reference_directories></reference_directories>   </references>  <personalization_keys> 265B   </personalization_keys>   <target_info>270B     <target_type></target_type>   </target_info>   <pricing> 275B    <actual_price></actual_price>     <price_scheme></price_scheme>    <payment_details>       <payment_method></payment_method>      <credit_card_info></credit_card_info>     </payment_details>  <pricing>   <security> 280B   </security>   <package_relation> 285B    <mandatory></mandatory>     <shared></shared>     <root></root>  </package_relation>   <distribution_logic> 290B    <transaction_rule></transaction_rule>    <concurrency_rule></concurrency_rule>   </distribution_logic></extended_environment>

FIG. 3 is a Unified Modeling Language (“UML”) diagram of an asset classobject according to one embodiment of the present invention. Assets 500may have intrinsic properties such as, for example, volatile, runnable,nonvolatile, and nonrunnable according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. The UML diagram shows the inheritance hierarchy of an asset500. According to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3, an asset 500 is asuperclass from which two subclasses are derived. These two subclassesinclude the class of volatile assets 510 and static assets 520. In turn,the volatile asset class 510 is the superclass of a runnable asset class530 and the static asset class 520 is a superclass of a runnable staticasset class 540. When the class hierarchy shown in FIG. 3 is adhered,object-oriented design benefits may be realized. The properties ofvolatile, static, and runnable are intrinsic properties of therespective classes described above. Objects that contain or are concreteinstances of these classes will assume the transitive intrinsicproperties of these classes. Therefore, concrete data structures (e.g.,packages below) can be created to have these same intrinsic properties.

A volatile asset 510 may be identified in a computing environment whentwo successive reads of the asset 500 may return different resultsaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. In a distributedapplication environment (e.g., with a client/server softwareapplication), a volatile asset 510 may further be identified when theworking copies of the volatile asset (typically located on a targetcomputer) need be reconciled with the master copy of the asset at thesource (e.g., an EIS) only at one or more prescribed synchronizationpoints.

A runnable asset 530 may be identified in a computing environmentbecause instances of this asset 500 are capable of and intended toexecute on an operating system thread according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

A nonvolatile asset 520 (herein also referred to as a static contentasset or static asset) may be identified in a computing environment bythe existence of a single representation or view of the asset regardlessof the number of instances of the asset existing according to oneembodiment of the present invention. A nonvolatile asset may appearimmutable regardless of the asset's location in the network.

A nonrunnable asset 286C can be universally distinguished in anycomputing system because instances of this Digital Asset are notintended to be, and are not capable of being executed by any operatingsystem thread. The properties of Runnable, Volatile, Non-Volatile, andNon-Runnable are well-known in the prior art, for example, see: JavaLanguage Specification, 2^(nd) Edition, Draft Gosling, et. al.,Copyright 2000 by Sun Microsystems, Inc., Page 165. C++ ProgrammingLanguage, 3^(rd) Edition, Bjarne Stroustrup, Copyright 1997 by AT&T,Page 808. These are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

A whole is an association of one or more digital assets 240. Thisassociation can be a physical association (e.g., where the whole is awell-known container of digital assets 240) or a logical association(e.g., where the whole is a system 105F, sub-system 106F, application108, sub-application 110F, components 120F, modules 130F, or a function140F). Certain of the intrinsic properties 2401 of digital assets 240are transitive to any whole of which the respective digital assets 240are members. Specifically, if a whole contains or has a composition ofone or more runnable digital assets 284C, the entire whole has arunnable intrinsic property. If the whole contains or has a compositionof one or more volatile digital assets 240, the entire whole has avolatile intrinsic property. However, all of the digital assets 240contained in the whole must be static 282C for the whole to have anintrinsic static property.

Similarly, all of the digital assets contained in the whole must benon-runnable for the whole to have an intrinsic property ofnon-runnable. The whole can contain or have a composition of digitalassets 240 that are either homogeneous or heterogeneous. Herehomogeneous or heterogeneous is with respect to the intrinsic propertyof the digital assets contained in or being members (composition) of thewhole. Examples include homogeneous runnable wholes or a heterogeneousrunnable wholes. Runnable wholes can be homogeneous or heterogeneous.

Association can be a physical association or a logical association orboth. A physical association can be defined from any grouping of two ormore digital assets, e.g., a file containing two or more records(objects, structures, etc.) is a physical association. A logicalassociation of digital assets 240 describes discrete connections amongthe respective digital assets 240 in the respective whole. A logicalassociation carries information about relationships among the digitalassets in the whole, e.g. two or more runnable objects logicallyassociated by a call graph. Another example of a logical association isthe HTML code of a Web page that identifies and logically associated anumber of executable digital assets 240 (e.g., JavaScript™) and one ormore static content component (e.g. a way file). A logical associationcan also be define by one or more rules, e.g. specifications of theassociation. These rules could describe group/role associations;business, marketing, and/or pricing associations; or any generalassociation that can be specified or defined in this way.

An example of a logical and a physical association is a containmentgraph representing all executable and data files in an application 108and their topology that may physically reside in a single data structurein memory, such as a package (see below). Another example of a logicaland physical association is a collection object such as a vectorcollection object in C++, which may store one or more homogeneousdigital assets 240 in memory, with the basis of their joint associationpreserved externally from the collection. Here it becomes apparent thatlogical associations can be internal (within the whole) or external(external to the whole).

A digital asset 240 shares a joint membership with other associateddigital assets 240 in a whole. Generally, if the whole contains at leastone runnable digital asset, this whole is any of the following parts100F: a system 105F, a sub-system 106F, application 108, asub-application 110F, a component 120F, a module 130F, or a function140F. (See the description of FIG. 1F.) Typically, whole that contain atleast one runnable asset also have other associated digital assetsassociated with the runnable digital asset. Often these wholes containnon-runnable digital assets as well so the whole is heterogeneous. Acomposition is an assembly of parts that forms a whole. The compositionpart-whole relationship is well-known, and generally, the system parts100F are well-known instantiations of compositions.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a package data structure (i.e., a packagestructure) showing the assets associated with a package according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The package data structure 600identifies the assets that are grouped together in a package accordingto the embodiment shown in FIG. 6. In an alternative embodiment of thepresent invention, where a package consists of only a single asset, theblock diagram shown in FIG. 4 is less relevant as each package isassociated with a single row or record 610 in the package datastructure.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, each record 610 ofthe package structure 600 may contain an asset field 620 and a packagefield 630 associating one or more assets in the asset field 620 with apackage in a package field 630. A unique package identifier may bestored in the package field 630 and a unique asset identifier may bestored in the asset field 620. As previously stated, a package structure600 (i.e., a package) may be a subapplication of an application on oneor more Enterprise Information Systems (“EIS”). A package structure 600may be a non-proprietary subapplication of a proprietary application onone or more Enterprise Information Systems (EIS). Alternatively, apackage structure 600 may be a smaller subapplication of the EIS thatmay be run on a target node or system with less capability that the EIS.A package structure 600 may also be any subset of the EIS that theenterprise chooses to distribute over the network to be executed on aremote target node or system.

As stated above, a package structure may include a novel combination ofassets including, for example, a relational data asset and a presentcomponent asset in the same package. In another example, a transactioncomponent asset and/or a static content asset may also be included inthe previous package structure example. In an alternative embodiment, apackage structure 600 may include at least one static content asset andat least one presentation component asset. In another embodiment, apackage structure 600 may include at least one asset from the staticcontent asset category (i.e., a static content asset type) with at leastone asset from the presentation component asset category (i.e., apresentation component asset type). In this embodiment, additionalassets from the relational data category and/or the transactioncomponent asset category may be further included in the packagestructure 600. In one embodiment, a legacy system asset may be includedin a package structure 600.

According to one embodiment, an asset in a package structure 600 maybelong to the presentation component asset category or to thetransaction component asset category. Such an asset may have alogic/data layer including a subsystem, an application, asubapplication, a component, a module, a function, a variable of an EISprogram, and/or a data structure. In one embodiment, the logic/datalayer may use an object-oriented language. Where the logic/data layer isembodied in an object-oriented language, the logic/data layer mayinclude a Java™ Archive File (“JAR”), a Java™ package, and/or a Java™class. Where the logic/data layer uses a Java™ Platform 2 EnterpriseEdition™ (“J2EE”) object-oriented language, the logic/data layer mayfurther include a JSP, a Java™ servlet, and/or an EJB.

In another embodiment, a package structure 600 may include a relationaldata asset which may incorporate other elements in addition torelational data. For example, these elements may include a datastructure, a set of relational database data, a set of object-orienteddatabase data, one or more serialized objects, a set of hierarchicaldatabase data, a subset of EIS data, one or more data sets extractedfrom one or more XML structures, and a flat file. In another embodiment,the package structure 600 may include an asset with an extendedenvironment layer that is a subset of a respective EIS application, atarget environment, and/or an intermediate server environment.

In one embodiment, a package structure 600 may include one or moreassets that are a part or all of a base environment. For example, theseassets may include: a Web server for an SC asset, a Java™ servlet enginefor a JSP, a Java™ Runtime Environment for a Java™ class asset, anapplication server for an EJB asset (including SB and EB assets), and aDBMS for a data assets (e.g., an RD, ED, and EB asset). According to oneembodiment, a Minimum Application Server (“MAS”) may be used in the baseenvironment. The MAS may provide the minimal services that anapplication needs when distributed to a client. This may include, forexample, naming, Web, servlet, transactional, and database services.These services are termed minimal because they may not have the extendedand/or proprietary features of similar services that may be provided inan EIS environment.

According to one embodiment, a package structure 600 may include anasset that comprises one or more of the following agents: a publishingagent, a subscriber adapter, a caching agent, and a computational agent.In another embodiment, a package structure 600 may include an asset thatcomprises any one or more of the following adapters: a discoveryadapter, a versioning adapter, an export adapter, a process adapter, atarget adapter, a client deployment adapter, a synchronization adapter,a bridging adapter, an adjustment adapter, a streaming adapter, aquality of service (QoS) adapter, and an asset packaging process. Inanother embodiment, a package structure 600 may include an asset of areference data and/or entity data asset type with a logic/data layerthat includes data based on one or more queries and with an extendedenvironment layer that is database table schema.

In one embodiment, a package structure 600 may include one or moretransaction component assets. A transaction component asset may performbusiness logic functions and/or manipulation of data in relationaldatabases. Examples of transaction component assets may include: an EJBentity bean, EJB session beans, dynamic content used to access adatabase, and/or a Java™ class that has business logic and/or is used toaccess a database. A transaction component asset type may include:

a. an asset having an asset adapter based on a CDS/ADS adapter assettype, with a logic/data layer that is one or more asset adapter classfiles that each support one of the respective asset types, and with anextended environment layer containing licensing information.

b. an asset having a JSP asset type, with a logic/data layer that is aJSP and with an extended environment layer that is one or more JNDIentries.

c. an asset having a Java™ class file asset type, with a logic/datalayer that is Java™ class file and an extended environment layer that isone or more JNDI entries.

d. an asset having a session bean asset type with a logic/data layerthat is an enterprise JavaBean™ (EJB) implementation and with anextended environment layer that includes an EJB stub and an EJB skeletondeployment descriptor and at least one JNDI entry.

e. an asset having a Java™ entity bean asset type with a logic/datalayer that is an EJB implementation based on a query and the extendedenvironment layer that is an EJB stub and an EJB skeleton deploymentdescriptor and at least one JNDI entry.

f. an asset having a Smalltalk asset type with a logic/data layercontaining a Smalltalk image.

g. an asset having a C++ asset type with a logic/data layer that is anexecutable file and with an extended environment layer that is one ormore registry entries or environment variables.

h. an asset having a C++ asset type with a logic/data layer that is adynamic link library (“DLL”) and with an extended environment layer thatis one or more registry entries or environment variables.

i. an asset having a Perl asset type with a logic/data layer that isPerl script and with an extended environment layer that includes atleast one environment variable.

In one embodiment, the package structure 600 may include one or morestatic content assets. For example, a static content asset may beincluded where:

a. the static content asset type is an HTML page.

b. the static content asset type is an HTML page with an extendedenvironment layer that includes a Web server alias.

c. the static content asset type is at least one of a JPEG file, a GIFfile, a Java Applet, a Scalable Vector Graphics (“SVG”) file, a PortableDocument Format (“PDF”) file, a Tag Image File Format (“TIFF”) file, anEncapsulated Postscript (“EPS”) file, a Portable Network Graphics(“PNG”) file, an eXtensible Markup Language (“XML”) file, a WirelessMarkup Language (“WML”) file, a Bitmap (“BMP”) file, an eXtended HTML(“EHTML”) file, a Dynamic HTML (“DHTML”) file, a Motion Picture ExpertsGroup (“MPEG”) file, an AVI file, and any static content transferablevia an HTTP protocol.

d. the static content asset type has an extended environment layer thatcontains a Web server alias.

e. one or more of the assets in the package has a music asset type witha logic/data layer that is an MP3 file and with an extended environmentlayer that is one or more sets of album and track information.

f. one or more of the assets in the package has a video asset type witha logic/data layer that is an MPEG file and with an extended environmentlayer that is one or more production notes.

g. one of the assets in the package has a document asset type with alogic/data layer that is a PDF file and with an extended environmentlayer that is one or more authentication certificates.

According to another embodiment, a package structure 600 may include arelational data asset (e.g., an RD asset and/or an ED asset) and apresentation component asset. In particular, a presentation componentasset may can be a DC asset, a EJB asset, an SB asset, and an EB asset.The package structure, according to this embodiment, may further includea transaction component asset. For example, a transaction componentasset may include an EB asset, an EJB asset, an SB asset, and a DCasset.

In another embodiment, a package structure may include an asset that isan asset adapter based on a CDS/ADS adapter asset type. The logic/datalayer of the this asset adapter asset may include an asset adapter classfile supporting a particular asset type. The extended environment layermay contain versioning information.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an asset definition datastructure according to one embodiment of the present invention. In anexample embodiment, the asset definition data structure 700 illustratedin FIG. 5 may be a database table. In alternative embodiments of thepresent invention, the asset definition data structure 700 may takealternative forms other than a database table.

According to the example embodiment, each record or row 710 of the assetdefinition data structure 700 may contain a number of fields. An assetidentifier field 720 may uniquely identify the asset for a particularapplication and may serve as the key or part of the key for the assetdefinition data structure 700. A location field 730 may containinformation identifying where to obtain the asset. For example, thelocation field 730 may contain a Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) orUniform Resource Identifier (“URI”) for the asset. Other machineidentification and/or location information (including memory locationinformation) may be also used in the location field. A name field 740may further identify an asset by providing, for example, a name and/ortextual description of the asset. An asset type field 750 may identifythe type of asset. For example, an asset may be one of the followingtypes: SC asset, DC asset, EJB asset, SB asset, EB asset, JSP asset, RDasset, and ED asset. A version field 760 may identify the version or atime stamp for the asset and/or asset information. These aforementionedfields of the asset definition data structure 700 are exemplary. Inalternative embodiments, some or all of these fields may be omitted andother fields 770 may be included.

In one embodiment where the asset definition data structure 700incorporates information about a plurality of applications, anapplication identifier field (not shown) may also be included touniquely identify the application for which the asset and/or assetdefinition applies. The application identifier field, when included, mayalso serve as part of the key for the asset definition data structure700.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a deployable asset data structureaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. The deployableasset data structure 800 may identify the current version of an asset.In an example embodiment, the deployable asset data structure 800illustrated in FIG. 6 may be a database table. In alternativeembodiments of the present invention, the deployable asset datastructure 800 may take alternative forms other than a database table.

According to the example embodiment, each record or row 810 of thedeployable asset data structure 800 may contain a number of fields. Anasset identifier field 820 may uniquely identify the asset for aparticular application and may serve as a key for the deployable assetdata structure 800. A version field 830 may identify the latest versionor latest update by, for example, a time stamp for the asset. An assetidentifier 820 and a version 830 may correspond to a similar assetidentifier and a version, respectively, in other data structures. Forexample, the asset identifier field 820 may be associated with the assetidentifier field 720 in the asset definition data structure 700illustrated in FIG. 5. Similarly, the version field 830 may beassociated with version field 760 of the asset definition data structure700 illustrated in FIG. 5, if that version field 760 is used in theasset definition data structure 700. These aforementioned fields in thedeployable asset data structure 800 are exemplary and other fields maybe included and/or substituted in other embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a target asset data structureaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. The target assetdata structure 900 may associate a target node 920 with a target asset930. In an example embodiment, the target asset data structure 900illustrated in FIG. 7 may be a database table. In alternativeembodiments of the present invention, the target asset data structure900 may take alternative forms other than a database table.

According to the example embodiment, each record or row 910 of thetarget asset data structure 900 may contain a number of fields. A targetnode identification field 920 may uniquely identify a target node andmay serve as part of the key for the target asset data structure 900. Atarget node may be one or more pieces of hardware (e.g., a computer) ona communications network and may include associated software accordingto one embodiment. For example, a target node may include a proxyserver, an application server, a CDS/ADS server, an EIS, a computerrunning all or part of an EIS, and/or an application running on acomputer. An target asset identifier field 930 may uniquely identify anasset for a particular application and may also serve as part of the keyfor the target asset data structure 900. For example, if a target node920 subscribed to a particular Quality of Service (“QoS”) or wasassociated with a particular program (e.g., a movie), the targetasset(s) 930 that may be used to provide the target node 920 with theQoS or program may be associated with target node 920 in the targetasset data structure 900. A target node identifier 920 and an targetasset identifier 930 may correspond to similar node and assetidentifiers, respectively, in other data structures. Both these fieldsin the target asset data structure 900 are exemplary and other fieldsmay be included and/or substituted in other embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a target deployment queue datastructure according to one embodiment of the present invention. Thetarget deployment queue data structure 1000 may list the target nodes1020 to which packages and/or assets are to be deployed (e.g.,distributed). In an example embodiment, the target deployment queue datastructure 1000 illustrated in FIG. 8 may be a database table. Inalternative embodiments of the present invention, the target deploymentqueue data structure 1000 may take alternative forms other than adatabase table.

According to the example embodiment, each record or row 1010 of thetarget deployment queue data structure 1000 may contain at least onefield—a target node identifier field 1020—identifying the target nodesto which one or more packages and/or assets are to be deployed. Forexample, the target nodes in the target deployment queue data structure1000 may include clients, servers, proxy servers, localized servers,slave servers, forefront servers, source EIS systems, and/or target EISsystems. The target node identifier field 1020 may contain anydesignation uniquely identifying the target node. For example, thetarget node identifier field 1020 may contain a node name, a nodemachine address, a a node Lightweight Directory Access Protocol(“LDAP”), and/or a node network name.

According to the example embodiment, the target deployment queue datastructure 1000 may include only a target node identifier field 1020. Inalternative embodiments of the present invention, the target deploymentqueue data structure 1000 may include one or more additional fields withadditional information about the target node. In another embodiment, thetarget node identifier field 1020 may be a pointer and/or link or directaccess to an eXtensible Markup Language (“XML”) file containinginformation about the target node including a unique identification ofthe target node. In the example embodiment, the target deployment queue1000 may be located on the CDS/ADS (discussed in greater detail below).

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a physical network architectureof a system according to one embodiment of the present invention.According to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 9, the network architecture1100 may involve one or more communication networks 1110 (e.g., theInternet) connected to at least one EIS tier 1120, at least onecomponent distribution server (“CDS”)/asset distribution server (“ADS”)tier 1130, and at least one client tier 1140 of one or more target nodes1150. The EIS tier 1120, CDS/ADS tier 1130, and client tier 1140 may befurther divided into sub-tiers.

The EIS tier 1120 may be further divided into one or more sub-tiersaccording to the example embodiment of the present invention. Forexample, the EIS tier 1120 may include a Web tier 1122 consisting of atleast one Web server 1123, an application tier 1124 consisting of atleast one application server 1125, and a database tier 1126 consistingof at least one database server 1127. The Web tier 1122 may produce aWeb page that may be served to a Web client (i.e., a target node) overthe communication network 1110. The application tier 1124 may run anapplication program that may be specific to an EIS and/or client (i.e.,target node). The results (e.g., the output) of and/or the input to theapplication may be communicated with a target node 1150 over thecommunications network 1110. The database tier 1126 may containinformation that may be used by the application tier 1124 and may beaccessed by the client tier 1140. According to one embodiment, thedatabase tier 1126 may contain EIS data, such as legacy data, and mayalso contain non-EIS data available over the network 1110.

The EIS tier 1120 may be any computer application used by a businessaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. For example, abusiness may be a traditional business and/or an electronic business(e.g., Web/Internet based). A business computer application (e.g., anEIS) may deal with business functions relating to, for example, rawmaterial acquisition and handling, research and development, productmanufacturing, product distribution and storage, marketing, retail andwholesale sales, customer relations, advertising, accounting, finance,taxes, business-to-business transactions, media, maintenance, equipmentcontrol, and/or inventory management.

The CDS/ADS tier 1130 may provide the facilities for identifying and/orextracting sections of a program and/or other software code andassembling these sections into assets and/or packages. The CDS/ADS tier1130 and its component CDS/ADS servers may distribute these assetsand/or packages to another tier, platform, and/or environment forexecution.

According to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 9, a target node 1150 maybe located in the client tier 1140 and may include any target (e.g.,hardware or client) that can receive data over the communicationsnetwork 1110. In the example embodiment, a target node 1150 may includea client agent (a software program) and/or a client (i.e., target node)architecture that allows for the remote execution of portions of anapplication (e.g., an EIS) business logic (e.g., EIS software elements)on a target node 1150. The client tier 1140 may include any targetcomputer/hardware 1150 connected to the communications network 1110. Forexample, the client tier 1140 may include as a target node a personalcomputer of a client/customer, a point of sale computer for providingcustomer information, a kiosk-based computer, a Local Area Network(“LAN”) server, a proxy server, a controller on a piece of equipment, asecond EIS tier, and any other server connected to the communicationsnetwork 1110.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a logical network architectureof a system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Theembodiment of a logical network architecture illustrated in FIG. 10 maybe referred to as Distributed Internet Services (“DIS”) 1200.

The EIS tier 1210 may include at least one EIS server 915 incorporatingvarious configurations of EIS agents and/or adapters 1220 according toone embodiment of the present invention. An EIS agent and/or adapter1220 may process an asset and/or other element of a software applicationprogram. According to one embodiment, an EIS agent and/or adapter 1250may be part of the CDS/ADS tier 1230 and may be distributed to arespective EIS so that the EIS agent and/or adapter may operate. The EIStier 1210 may be further divided into sub-tiers and may include at leastone EIS and/or other application (i.e., software application program).The EIS tier 1210 may communicate with the client tier 1255 over anetwork connection 1285 using an appropriate network protocol 1287.These protocols 1287 may include, for example, Web and/or Internetprotocols, browser/client protocols, network communication protocols,and connection protocols.

According to the example embodiment, the EIS tier 1210 may communicateover a network connection 1290 with one or more CDS/ADS servers 1235 inthe CDS/ADS tier 1230. The communication between an EIS residing on anEIS server 1215 in the EIS tier 1210 and a CDS/ADS server 1235 in theCDS/ADS tier 1230 may be made using an appropriate protocol 1292. Forexample, an appropriate protocol 1292 for this communication may includethe Common Object Request Broker Architecture (“CORBA”), InteroperableInternet Object Protocol (“IIP”), and Remote Method Invocation (“RMI”)such as, for example, for T3, Java™ Remote Interface Protocol (“JRMP”),and IIOP. The CDS/ADS tier 1230 may also communicate with the clienttier 1255 through a network connection 1295 using an appropriateprotocol 1297. These protocols may include, for example, CORBA (withIIOP), RMI (with T3, JRMP, and/or IIOP), and Multiplatform CommunicationConnection.

The CDS/ADS tier architecture may include one or more asset server nodes1235 that may be distributed across two or more sub-tiers of the CDS/ADStier according to one embodiment of the present invention. An assetserver node 1235 may include a package specification process (not shown)that may involve various combinations of CDS/ADS agents and/or adapters1250. In the example embodiment, the CDS/ADS agents and/or adapters 1250may identify assets in respective tiers across a network and may packagethese assets for distribution to a target node 1260 on a client tier1255 and/or other network tier.

In the example embodiment, an asset server node 1235 may perform acollaboration function provided by a collaboration server 1240. Thecollaboration function may be any collaboration function such as, forexample, the collaboration function specified in U.S. Pat. No.6,240,444, entitled “Internet Web page Sharing” to Fin et al. Issued onMay 29, 2001 or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/947,149, entitled“System and Method for Real-Time Collaboration Using Web Browsers” toPace et al., filed on Aug. 31, 2001, that are both incorporated hereinby reference in their entirety. The collaboration function may beperformed in one embodiment by handling the TDS 1245 like any otherasset that is packaged, distributed, executed, synchronized, and/ormanaged through an asset life cycle.

As stated above, the client tier 1255 architecture may include one ormore target nodes 1260. A target node 1260 may include many differenttypes of clients such as, for example, a personal computer, aworkstation, a pervasive device, a local server (e.g. a LAN server), aproxy server, a general network server, and an EIS system. A target node1260 and a client tier 1255 may be distributed throughout the networkand may be divided into sub-tiers. A target node 1260 and a client tier1255 may include a general network server and/or an EIS systemfunctioning as a target node 1260 for a particular application,subapplication, component, module, and/or function. A target node 1260may include one or more Client Distribution Agents/Adapters (“CDA”)1265, in various configurations (discussed below), that handle thecommunication between the target node 1260 and either the CDS/ADS tier1230, another client tier 1255, and/or an EIS tier 1210.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a data structure showing a plurality ofpackages according to one embodiment of the present invention. Anapplication program 1300 may be divided into one or more packages 1305,each of which may represent a portion of the application 1300. In turn,a package 1305 may be composed of one or more assets. The data structureillustrated in FIG. 11 shows several packages 1305-1320 designatedP1-Pp. Each package may be composed of one or more assets according tothe example embodiment. For example, package P1 1320 may include severalassets 1325-1370. According to one embodiment, the assets in a package1320 may have an expressed or implied logical relationship, e.g., shownby a call graph. For example, in package P1 1320, asset a.jsp 1325 maycall an asset navigate.jsp 1330. The navigate.jsp asset 1330 may in turncall a “chuck.class” object 1335 via call graph edge 1380, ashuang.class object 1350 via call graph edge 1385, or a JavaBean™ 1355via edge 1036. The chuck.class object 1335 may call an entity bean 1340that may access entity data 1345 in a relational database. The JavaBean™1355 may call a session bean 1360 which may call an entity bean 1365which may access reference data 1370 in a relational database.

In the context of a CDS/ADS according to one embodiment of the presentinvention, a package 1305 may refer to a logical collection assets.These assets may be grouped according to different criteria such as, forexample, the locus of execution and/or the generation of a particularoutput. According to one embodiment and within the context of a Webapplication, a package may be a grouping of assets used to generate theoutput for at least one Web page. It may

In the context of the CDS/ADS, the term package 1305 refers to a logicalcollection of assets. These assets can be grouped following differentcriteria, such as locality of execution or the generation of someoutput. Within the context of one embodiment of a Web application, apackage is a grouping of the assets that are needed to generate theoutput for one or more Web pages. It is convenient to refer to thesepackages based on the URL associated with the request for the Web pagethe assets generate.

The aforementioned structure might be used through a Web page. The Webpage would allow a user to see the balance of various accounts, such aschecking, savings, and retirement accounts. The page would need toaccess the JSP pages to build the user interface. Those JSP's wouldaccess the class files in order to perform some intermediatefunctionality, such as sorting account entries in the summary. Thesession bean 1360 would be required for managing the data associatedwith the user's connection, and possibly accessing data in therelational database, such as the account balances. The entity bean 1365would store information that represents a single data entity, such as astock price table that provides the current value of stock prices usedto calculate the balances of the retirement account.

Any one of the assets in this package may have a version 1375 accordingto one embodiment. The version 1375 may be any known way ofdistinguishing the asset 1395. In a preferred embodiment, the version isa time stamp. Other examples of versions 1375 include locations,machine/node number, source, destination, checksum, differencingalgorithm, file name, file system extended attributes, other versioninginformation, etc., or combination of these. While packages 1305 caninclude the actual assets 1395 of the package 1305, in a preferredembodiment, this is not done. Rather, some identifier of the asset 1395may be included in a list.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a package definition datastructure according to one embodiment of the present invention. In anexample embodiment, the package definition data structure 1400illustrated in FIG. 12 may be a database table. In alternativeembodiments of the present invention, the package definition datastructure 1400 may take alternative forms other than a database table.

According to the example embodiment, each package specification recordor row 1405 of the package definition data structure 1400 may contain atleast one field. A package identifier field (package ID) 1410 mayuniquely identify a package and may serve as part of the key for thepackage definition data structure 1400. A package identifier field(package ID) 1410 may contain a package name and/or any otherinformation that may uniquely identify a package such as, for example, apackage number, an address of the package, an object identifier, and aURL/URI. In the example embodiment, the package ID field 1410 maycontain the URL/URI associated with the package (or asset as discussedbelow) on an EIS.

The package definition data structure 1400 may also include timinginformation 1450 according to one embodiment of the present invention.The timing information 1450 may include any information that when arespective package is delivered to one or more locations over thenetwork. Timing information 1450 may be designated in various formsaccording to different embodiments of the present invention. Forexample, an “immediate” designation 1452 specifies that the packageshould be delivered over the network as soon as the package is availablefor delivery (i.e. when the package is specified). In an alternativeembodiment, a delivery start time 1454 may be provided in the packagedefinition data structure 1400 to provide a time for the package to bedelivered over the network. According to this alternative embodiment,the “immediate” designation field 1452 may be omitted or alternatively,provided with a value equal to “not immediate.”

In another embodiment, if no package timing 1450 information is includedin the package definition data structure 1400, the package can beimmediately sent out.

In one embodiment, a delivery end time 1456 of a package may be given.According to this embodiment, the package may be scheduled fordistribution over the network at any time prior to the delivery end time1456.

Other variations of package timing are possible according to otherembodiments of the present invention. An expire time field 1458 may beprovided to indicate a time beyond which the particular package 1405should not be sent. A remove time field 1460 may be provided to indicatea time beyond which the package specification record 1405 should bedeleted, or marked unusable in the package definition data structure1400. In another embodiment, a refresh rate field 1462 may be provideddesignating how often the package specification record 1405, or table1400, should be updated. Variations on the combination of these abovefields 1452, 1454, 1456, 1458, 1460, and/or 1462 may be used for thepackage timing information 1450 in other embodiments of the presentinvention.

Information about the location 1420 of a particular package may also beincluded in the package definition data structure 1400 according to oneembodiment of the present invention. This location information 1420 mayidentify the location on the network where the package may be found. Inone embodiment, the location information may include the URL and/or URIof the package. In another embodiment, a network host name may also beused to identify the location of a package.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the packagedefinition data structure 1400 may not need to define packages ofpotentially multiple assets. According to this embodiment, the datastructure 1400 may describe individual assets each as a package wherethe package ID field 1410 may be replaced by an asset ID field. This maybe the equivalent of describing packages containing a single asset wherethe package description data structure 1400 may also be thought of as anasset description data structure.

In one embodiment, the package definition data structure 1400 may bespecified as an XML document. There may be an XML DTD (Document TypeDefinitions) associated with the document that specifies the allowedstructure. An Application Markup Language (“AML”) may refer to any XMLdocument that adheres to the XML DTD defined for the package definitiondata structure 1400. HTML may be defined in a similar manner as XML andmay support the specification of resources (e.g. text, other HTMLdocuments, images) that are to be gathered and displayed within thedocument. AML may be used as a greatly expanded version of HTML. SinceHTML covers only a small number of resources, the capability to defineplug-in modules for both the browser and the Web server have allowedHTML to handle a greater range of applications.

Utilizing AML, the DIS may be able to support many more capabilitiesthan the plug-ins that may otherwise be allowed. In some embodiments,the AML may specify the assets (i.e., resources) an application may needto display on a single page in a Web browser. The distribution of theseassets to the target environment may be analogous to the downloading ofassets using the HTTP protocol. However, using AML, any general Weband/or enterprise application (especially those defined by the J2EEspecification) may be distributed from a server to a client (i.e.,target) and may be executed in the target (e.g., client) environmentwithout the need for additional plug-ins. Furthermore, using theinfrastructure disclosed herein, a supporting environment may beprovided for the deployment of any of these general assets on any givenclient without the need for specialized adapters/plug-ins according toone embodiment of the present invention. In addition, using this AMLinfrastructure, which may be designed from the ground up to support Weband/or enterprise applications, any general enterprise application maybe discovered, processed, and distributed over any tier of the networkso that these enterprise applications may be deployed on any givenclient on the network and the coherency of the applications and/or dataat the enterprise system remains intact.

FIG. 13A is a block diagram illustrating an alternative package datastructure with an Extended Environment for Packages (“EEP”) according toone embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, apackage structure 1500A may include an extended environment package(“EEP”) 1510A and at least one asset which may be designated by an assetidentifier 1520A. In one embodiment, an EEP 1510A may be an XML file asdescribed above for the asset EE layer. An EEP 1510A may also includedescriptors which may describe common features shared by the assets inthe package structure 1500A according to one embodiment. For example,the following may be one potential EEP 1510A defined using XML:

<extended_environment package>   <common> 1530A     <name></name>    <address></address>     <size></size>     <volatile></volatile>    <runnable></runnable>     <version></version>    <user_type></user_type>     <security></security>    <priced></priced>   </common>   <dependencies> 1540A    <package_dependencies> 1545A       <package></package>    </package_dependencies>   </dependencies>   <references> 1550A    <reference_links></reference_links>    <reference_files></reference_files>    <reference_directories></reference_directories>   </references>  <pricing> 1560A     <actual_price></actual_price>    <price_scheme></price_scheme>     <payment_details>      <payment_method></payment_method>      <credit_card_info></credit_card_info>     </payment_details>  <pricing>   <security> 1570A   </security> </extended_environmentpackage>

In an alternative embodiment, an EEP 1510A may have one or more commondescriptors (e.g., 1530A in the XML code above). These commondescriptors may include a package name, address, and/or size. The commondescriptors may provide information common to all the assets in apackage 1500A. For example, are all of the assets in the packagevolatile, runnable, the same user type, and/or the same version. Commondescriptors may also indicate package level security or pricinginformation.

The EEP dependency descriptors (e.g., 1540A in the XML code above) mayinclude package dependencies (e.g., 1545A in the XML code above) thatdescribe other packages with which the package data structure 1500A isassociated. In an alternative embodiment, an EEP 1510A may have one ormore reference descriptors (e.g., 1550A in the XML code above). In oneembodiment, the reference descriptors (e.g., 1550A in the XML codeabove) may include any one or more of the following at a package level:a reference link descriptor, a reference file descriptor, and areference directory descriptor. The reference link descriptor mayprovide a World-Wide-Web (“WWW”) address that has contents used forprocessing of the package. The reference link descriptor may alsoprovide a WWW address that has contents used during execution of all thedigital assets in the package. The reference file descriptor may be aunique fully qualified name of a file required for reference by thepackage. The reference directory descriptor provides additional addressinformation that may be used to locate all the associated digital assetsin the package. For example, the additional address information mayinclude root or parent level directory names, which may be combined withthe leaf directory level identification given in the common namedescriptor to locate and fully qualify the path information for thedigital asset.

In an alternative embodiment, the EEP 1510A may further include pricingdescriptors (e.g., 1560A in the XML code above). The pricing descriptorsmay describe information about any well-known general pricinginformation at a package level including one or more of the following: aprice, a price scheme (subscription, pay to own, pay to use, one timepayment), a payment detail, and payment method (check, credit card, cardnumber).

In another embodiment, the EEP 1510A may further include one or moresecurity descriptors (e.g., 1570A in the XML code above). The securitydescriptors may be well-known and may describe any one or more of thefollowing functions at a package level: encryption, authorization, andaccess control. Other EEP 1510A descriptors may be included in otherembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13B is a UML diagram showing the transitive part-whole associationsbetween certain digital assets and certain packages according to oneembodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, aStaticPackage class 1505B may include at least one StaticAsset 1520B asa member but may not include assets of other types. A RunnablePackageclass 1510B may include least one RunnableAsset 1525B as a member andmay also include a StaticAsset 1520B and a VolatileAsset 1530B. AVolatilePackage class 1530B may include at least one VolatileAsset 1515Band may also include a StaticAsset 1520B.

FIG. 13C is a flowchart of a package specification process according toone embodiment of the present invention. The package specificationprocess 1500C may determine whether a given package is ready forimmediate delivery, in which case the assets in the package are packagedand delivered, or if the package needs to be scheduled for laterdelivery. In the example embodiment, the delivery/schedule process 1500Cmay use a message queue to “decouple” the schedule and delivery of oneor more of the packages from other functions of the system.

Steps 1505C, 1510C, and 1515C of the delivery/schedule process 1500C,are an optional set of steps that may use the message queue of thesystem to place package specification records into a system database.These steps permit the system to do other functions without regard forthe time used for receiving or storing the package specification recordsin the database—i.e., the decoupling. First, the package specificationrecord may be written 1505C to the message queue. As the systemprocesses the message queue, the package specification record 1505C isread 1510C from the message queue and then written 1515C to a packagespecification database record (in the system database) of the sameformat as the package definition data structure.

In the example embodiment, the package specification record may bewritten to the message queue by some automated process, or, using a toolto aid in the specification. For example, the export process describedbelow may be one such automated process.

Step 1520C examines the copy of the package specification records in thesystem database to determine if the package specified by the packagespecification record is ready for immediate delivery. This can be donein various ways. In one embodiment, the immediate field of the packagedefinition data structure may be examined. If the immediate field has avalue of “immediate”, the package specified by the package specificationrecord may be sent 1530C to an asset packaging process (see below). Ifnot, the specified package may be scheduled 1535C. In the exampleembodiment, the specified package may be scheduled by identifying thepackage in a packaging queue.

In alternative embodiments, delivery readiness 1520C, 1525C, may bedetermined by comparing the current time to various fields in the timinginformation of the package definition data structure discussed in FIG.12. For example, if the current time is greater than a delivery starttime, the package may be sent to the asset packaging process 1530C—ifnot, the package may be scheduled 1535C. Alternatively, if the currenttime is greater than a delivery start time and less than a delivery endtime for a package, the package may be sent to the asset packagingprocess 1530C—if not, the package may be scheduled 1535C. If the currenttime is less than a delivery end time for the package, the package maybe sent to the asset packaging process 1530C—if not, the package may bescheduled 1535C or deleted. Other “delivery immediate” checks 1525C maybe incorporated in other embodiments of the present invention. In theexample embodiment, the package may be scheduled by placing the packagein a packaging queue 1535C. In an alternative embodiment, the packagingprocess may be performed before the package timing information isexamined, leaving that examination for deployment time.

FIG. 13D is a block diagram of a packaging queue according to oneembodiment of the present invention. In an example embodiment, thepackaging queue 1550D illustrated in FIG. 13D may be a database table.In alternative embodiments of the present invention, the packaging queue1550D may take alternative forms other than a database table. Thepackaging queue 1550D may have one or more packaging queue records orrows 1555D. Each of these packaging queue records 1555D may have apackage ID 1552D and a packaging queue start time 1554D. In the exampleembodiment, step 1535C in FIG. 13C places data into the package ID field1552D. In one embodiment, the queue start time 1554D may be determinedby a deployment engineer. The packaging queue may contain and holdrequests for the deployment of packages until they are scheduled fordeployment at which time the package queue record 1555D may be deleted.

According to the example embodiment of the present invention, the datastructures discussed herein, such as the packaging queue, may beembodied as tables or views in a database management system such as, forexample, a relational database management system (“RDBMS”). This maypermit operations on the data structures using known databasetechniques, for example SQL queries in any known relational databasemanager.

FIG. 13E is a flowchart of an asset packaging process according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The asset packaging process 1500Epackages (i.e., groups) the assets making up a packages that needs to bedelivered immediately or that is scheduled for later delivery if thestart time is less than or equal to the current time, or if any otherdelivery requirements are met according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. The asset packaging process 1500E may use as input a recordfrom the packaging queue (e.g., in the case of the “later” deliveredpackages) or the package ID of a package specification record for apackage that is being delivered immediately.

The asset packaging process 1500E may first identify 1505E the pendingpackages (or assets, if a “single asset package”). A pending package maybe any package on the packaging queue whose start time may be less thanor equal to the current time, any package that may be known to needimmediate delivery, or any package meeting any other deliveryrequirement.

Optional step 1510E determines which of the pending assets needs to bedelivered at the current time. A pending asset may be any asset in apending package. In a preferred embodiment, the pending asset may be anyasset in a pending package that is not already located at anynode/client requiring the respective asset.

If there are no pending assets, the process 1500E waits for a period oftime and then performs the check 1510E again. This period of time may bedetermined by application requirements. In the example embodiment, theperiod of time may be the time between the current time and the time ofdelivery for the asset closest in time for scheduled delivery, e.g.listed in the packaging queue.

If it is determined that there are pending assets, the process proceedsto step 1515E which makes the process 1500E consistent while the assetsare being packaged for delivery. In one embodiment, the client/targetdeployment queue (e.g., 1000 in FIG. 8) may be locked to achieveconsistency. In an alternative embodiment, a distributed lock may beused to support clustering of the CDS/ADS. In other embodiments, anystandard known contention resolution method may be used, e.g.transactional locks, synchronization, semaphores, mutual exclusion, etc.

In an alternative embodiment, if there are pending packages/assets thatneed to be distributed, any changes in the nodes (e.g. clients) that areto receive these packages/assets have to be fixed for a while in orderto maintain consistency. In the example embodiment, the “lock” 1515E ona client/target deployment queue may accomplish this. The “lock” 1515Eprevents any writing to or deleting from the client/target deploymentqueue until the lock is removed.

In step 1520E, the pending assets may be determined. The assets may bedetermined for the pending packages. In one embodiment, only thoseassets that are in a pending package that are not included in one ormore node/client registers for the respective asset are determined asbeing pending assets. In the example embodiment, only those assets thatare in a pending package that are not included in one or morenodes/clients registered for the respective asset, and are not in anasset cache, e.g. accessible by the server, are determined as pending.

In one embodiment, this determination may be done by logicalintersections between the set of assets in pending packages and a set ofregistered assets (associated with specific nodes). This can be done byusing well-known database techniques, for example SQL queries in anyrelational database manager.

In one embodiment, some of the information in the package definitiondata structure may be specified by an external system in the form of atext based data structure such as XML. Additionally, the informationcontained in the package record, the package content data structure, andthe asset definition data structure may be represented in relationaldatabase tables for the purpose of performing set operations on this andother data in the CDS/ADS data store (i.e., the database). For example:

The reference numbers in the following SQL create statements correspondto the reference numbers in FIGS. 4, 5, & 12:

CREATE TABLE PACKAGEDESCRIPTOR ( 1400 PACKAGE_ID VARCHAR(32) NOT NULL,1410 IMMEDIATE CHAR(1) NOT NULL, 1452 URL VARCHAR(200) NOT NULL, 1420REFRESH_RATE INTEGER, 1462 START_DT TIMESTAMP NOT NULL, 1454 STOP_DTTIMESTAMP, 1456 EXPIRED_DT TIMESTAMP, 1458 REMOVE_DT TIMESTAMP, 1460PRIMARY KEY (PACKAGE_ID) CREATE TABLE PACKAGEASSETS ( 600 PACKAGE_IDVARCHAR(32) NOT NULL, 630 ASSET_ID BIGINT NOT NULL, 620 PRIMARY KEY(PACKAGE_ID,ASSET_ID) CREATE TABLE ASSETDESCRIPTOR ( 700 ASSET_ID BIGINTNOT NULL, 720 ASSET_TYPE VARCHAR(3) NOT NULL, 750 ASSET_NAMEVARCHAR(100) NOT NULL, 740 TIMESTAMP TIMESTAMP, PRIMARY KEY (ASSET_ID)The use of primary keys as in the above tables is a well-known way ofdefining how a table may be stored and accessed.

For the purpose of this embodiment, two relational database views,VIEW_S1 and VIEW_S2, are created. Step 1520E uses these views todetermine which assets are candidates for client deployment. These viewsare described as follows:

  CREATE VIEW VIEW_S1 (PACKAGE_ID, URL) AS SELECT PACKAGE_ID, URL FROMPACKAGEDESCRIPTOR WHERE START_DT < CURRENT TIMESTAMP   CREATE VIEWVIEW_S2 (ASSET_ID) AS SELECT DISTINCT ASSET_ID FROM PACKAGEASSETS WHEREPACKAGE_ID IN (SELECT PACKAGE_ID FROM VIEW_S1)

VIEW_S1 may be a subset of the data contained in the PACKAGEDESCRIPTORtable (e.g. 1400). The subset may be obtained by selecting those packageID's that correspond with start dates later than the current date.VIEW_S2 may be a subset of the data contained in the PACKAGEASSETS table(e.g. 600). The subset may be obtained by selecting those asset ID's inthe PACKAGEASSETS table that have package ID's contained in viewVIEW_S1.

Optional step 1525E clears a deployable asset data structure. This maybe done to prevent duplicate entries in the table and to prevent thetable from over filling.

In an alternative embodiment, only the entries in the deployable assetdata structure associated with the package or packages being distributedare cleared. This may be done to prevent duplicate entries in the tableand to prevent the table from over filling.

Step 1530E may retrieve a list of pending assets (e.g., result ofintersection, selecting the contents of the VIEW_S2 view into theASSETDESCRIPTOR table 700). Step 1535E may send a request to an EIS forthe current version of the assets on the list. In an application wherethe version of the asset may be unimportant, step 1535E may be omittedin one embodiment of the present invention. The version/timestamp field760 of the asset definition data structure may be left empty.

In an alternate embodiment, the SQL queries used to define the viewscould be combined into a single SQL query. Such a query could beexecuted to obtain the results and insert those results into, forexample, the final ASSETDESCRIPTOR table.

In the example embodiment, step 1535E may send the list of pendingassets to the EIS distribution agent. The EIS distribution agent maythen update 1540E the list with the current version. In one embodiment,the EIS distribution agent compares the asset IDs (e.g. file names) onthe list to the current versions in the EIS. The EIS distribution agentmay then write the current version of the respective asset (asset ID) tothe list in the version field of the asset definition data structure(760 in FIG. 5). The list may be then returned 1340 to the CDS/ADS bythe EIS export agent (see the description in FIG. 16, 1600, below).

The CDS/ADS uses the list with the current version of the assets toupdate the deployable asset data structure (800 in FIG. 6). In oneembodiment, the CDS/ADS then determines the “final” deployable assets,which are the current versions of the assets in the deployable assettable minus the assets in the CDS/ADS asset cache that match. This maybe done by subtracting those assets in the deployable asset datastructure that are available to the CDS/ADS in a cache memory. Thisfinal deployable asset list may be sent to the appropriate EIS. For eachasset on the list, an export asset adapter (discussed below) may becalled for that asset, based on the asset type. The asset adapterpersists the respective asset to a data structure that the EISdistribution agent sends to the CDS/ADS. The data structure may bedetermined by the asset type specific to the asset that is being used.

In step 1545E, the CDS/ADS may make a request of the EIS exportadapter/agent to provide the assets listed on the current deployableasset data structure. Once these assets are received from the respectiveEIS, the CDS/ADS may store 1550E these assets in memory available to theCDS/ADS.

In the example embodiment, a cache may be used to store the assets ondisk or in memory. The CDS/ADS may then write the deployable asset datastructure to the asset cache data structure in the CDS/ADS. The CDS/ADSmay write 1555E the target node IDs that require assets to theclient/target deployment queue (1000 in FIG. 8). According to theexample embodiment, the CDS/ADS may now have cached in one or moreavailable memories all of the assets required by all of the target nodesat a given time. At this point, any locking step may be reversed 1560E,e.g. the client/target deployment queue may be unlocked. In otherembodiments, the client locks may also be removed 1560E at this time.

In the context of the CDS/ADS, the term agent refers to a process or setof processes executing on a node, responding as a server and tasked withcompleting some significant job on behalf of the requesting process.

FIG. 13F is a flowchart of a client deployment process (“CDP”) accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. The client deploymentprocess 1500F may be used to deploy assets from the CDS/ADS, ordistribution tier, to a respective client node. These assets, or assetfragments (as described below), are moved from the CDS/ADS to the clientnode as data structures, and the movement may be achieved throughwell-known network programming methods. In one embodiment, a clientdistribution agent (“CDA”), e.g. deploy, runs on a respectiveclient/target node in order to determine whether assets need to beobtained from the CDS/ADS.

The client deployment process first 1500F determines if there are anyassets pending for delivery to a specific target node. In oneembodiment, the client deployment process 1500F queries 1520F theclient/target deployment queue for its client identifier. If theidentifier is on the queue, this indicates that the CDS/ADS has assetspending for delivery to the respective target node. Here, a pendingasset may be any asset that has been identified and moved from the EISto the CDS/ADS in steps 1520E-1555E of FIG. 13E. In a preferredembodiment, the asset may be associated with a package that has adelivery timestamp equal to or less than the current time, and which hasnot already been deployed to the client. The process may be able todetermine if the asset has been delivered to the client by checking thelist of assets and their timestamps, which may be stored in the clientasset table (discussed below) which resides on the server.

FIG. 13G is block diagram illustrating a client asset table according toone embodiment of the present invention. The client asset table 1500Gmay reside on the CDS/ADS and, in the example embodiment, as a databasetable structure as defined in the table create statement, below.

CREATE TABLE CLIENTASSETS ( CLIENT_ID VARCHAR(32) NOT NULL, 1452ASSET_ID BIGINT NOT NULL, 1454 TIMESTAMP TIMESTAMP NOT NULL, 1479PRIMARY KEY (CLIENT_ID, ASSET_ID)

The client deployment process 1500F contacts the CDS/ADS in step 1510Fin order to determine if there are assets pending for the target node instep 1520F. Each target node (e.g., client) has a target/client ID(e.g., 1020 in FIG. 8) associated with the. The target node may ask1520F the CDS/ADS if there is a message corresponding to thetarget/client ID in the client/target deployment queue.

In step 1530F the target node agent residing on the client 1500F maydetermine if a message was pending in the client/target deploymentqueue. If a message is not pending, the client deployment process 1500Fproceeds to step 1540F. If a message is found (is indicated) in theclient/target deployment queue for the respective client/target node,the client deployment process 1500F proceeds to step 1550F.

If there are no entries in the client/target deployment queue for therespective client/target node, the process 1500F may proceed to step1540F. In step 1540F, the client deployment process 1500F waits for amessage to appear in the client/target deployment queue. The clientdeployment process may wait a predetermined amount of time beforechecking the client/target deployment queue. In one embodiment, thepredetermined amount of time can be calculated by determining when thenext package that needs to be delivered.

In an alternative preferred embodiment, the client deployment process1500F will be given a hint as to how long the agent should wait 1540Fbefore polling the CDS/ADS for the status of the client/targetdeployment queue. The hint could be algorithmically derived based on theperformance requirements of the application that is being deployed.

In Step 1550F, the CDA requests an asset descriptor manifest (ADM) fromthe CDS/ADS (described below in FIG. 13H). The asset descriptor manifest(ADM) may be used by the CDA to communicate with the CDS/ADS about whichassets or fragments of assets are yet to be transferred from the CDS/ADSto the respective client/target node via the CDA (distribution tier).

FIG. 13H is a block diagram illustrating the asset descriptor manifestdata structure according to one embodiment of the present invention. Theasset descriptor manifest may be a data structure that associates assetIDs 1554H and offsets 1556H and is used in a one embodiment of theinvention. The ADM has records 1553H that may contain an asset ID field1554H, an offset field 1556H, and, in a one embodiment, an asset typefield 1558H. See FIG. 12. The Asset Descriptor Manifest (ADM) 1490 maybe made of a list of Asset Manifest Entries (AME, one per asset) 1453. Apreferred AME 1453 has the following fields:

Offset 1556H: offset into file containing cached asset, e.g. the“boundaries of the asset fragment”.

Cache name 1578H: name of cache file containing the asset; Asset_Id1554H: uniquely identifies an asset; Timestamp 1579H: set to assettimestamp (or version); Asset Type 1558H: In one embodiment, this fieldis not included in the ADM 1500H but the information may be obtainedfrom other data structures for this embodiment.

The following describes how these fields are used. The CDA requests anADM from the CDS/ADS when it finds an entry for it in the client/targetdeployment queue. The CDS/ADS initializes the ADM with a list of AMEs,one per asset to be deployed to the client. Each AME may be initializedas follows: Offset=0; Cache name=name of cache file containing theasset; Asset_Id=asset ID; Timestamp: set to asset timestamp (orversion).

The CDA then starts requesting the archive containing the assets. Thecache name, timestamp, and asset Id field in the AMEs don't change. The“offset” field reflects the offset into the cache file containing theasset. When all of the asset has been transferred, the offset for itsAME may be set to −1. When all assets on the ADM have been transferred,all AMEs should have a −1 in their offset field.

In a preferred embodiment, the CDA doesn't interpret any fields in theAME and the AME is used by the CDS/ADS only. The CDA monitors theentries in the archive file it gets from the CDS/ADS. An asset mayspread across several consecutive calls to the CDS/ADS. When the CDAdetects that an archive entry name has changed, then it knows that anasset transfer has completed. The clients keeps track of when archiveentries change to be able to reconstruct the archive on the client side.However, in a preferred embodiment, the assets are not deployed untilthe complete archive has been transferred to the client. Once the clientdetects that the archive transferred has been completed, it deploys theassets.

In a preferred embodiment, the process uses the views below. They aresimilar to those views used to determine what assets need to be cached(this is, brought over from the EIS), described elsewhere in thisdisclosure. However, the views below are used to determine what assetsneed to be deployed.

VIEW_S3A returns client assets that are up to date with respect toASSETCACHE table.

CREATE VIEW VIEW_S3A ( CLIENT_ID, ASSET_ID, TIMESTAMP ) AS SELECTCLIENTASSETS.CLIENT_ID, CLIENTASSETS.ASSET_ID, CLIENTASSETS.TIMESTAMPFROM ASSETCACHE JOIN CLIENTASSETS ON CLIENTASSETS.ASSET_ID =ASSETCACHE.ASSET_ID WHERE  CLIENTASSETS.TIMESTAMP  = ASSETCACHE.TIMESTAMP  ANDCLIENTASSETS.ASSET_ID IN SELECT ASSET_ID FROM VIEW_S6 WHERECLIENTASSETS.ASSET_ID = VIEW_S6.ASSET_ID

VIEW_S7A may be similar to VIEW_S7, but with respect to ASSETCACHE: itreturns a list of assets to be deployed per client.

  CREATE VIEW VIEW_S7A ( CLIENT_ID, ASSET_ID ) AS SELECT CLIENT_ID,ASSET_ID FROM VIEW_S6 WHERE ASSET_ID NOT IN (SELECT ASSET_ID FROMVIEW_S3A WHERE VIEW_S3A.CLIENT_ID = VIEW_S6.CLIENT_ID) AND ASSET_ID INSELECT ASSET_ID FROM VIEW_S2)

VIEW_S9A may be similar to VIEW_S9 but with respect to ASSETCACHE table:it returns list of assets to be deployed per client (with respect toASSETCACHE table with extra information about cache jar.

  CREATE VIEW VIEW_S9A ( CLIENT_ID, ASSET_ID, JAR, TIMESTAMP ) AS SELECTVIEW_S7A.CLIENT_ID, VIEW_S7A.ASSET_ID, ASSETCACHE.JAR,ASSETCACHE.TIMESTAMP FROM ASSETCACHE, VIEW_S7A WHERE ASSETCACHE.ASSET_ID= VIEW_S7A.ASSET_ID

In Step 1560F, the CDS/ADS performs the set operations on the CDS/ADSdata store tables (see below in this flowchart description) that areneeded to determine which assets need to be sent to the CDA. These setof operations involve determining which assets are registered (in theCLIENTREGISTRY table) for the client ID, yet are not already on theclient node. These asset ids are assembled (by inserting them into alist) into an ADM and returned to the CDA as step 1565F.

In step 1570F, the CDA calls the CDS/ADS to get the next asset, set ofassets, or asset fragment from the CDS/ADS. The specification of therequired assets may be achieved by sending the ADM to the CDS/ADS alongwith request for assets.

In some cases the asset may be very large and can spread across morethan one client/target call to the CDS/ADS. In these cases, the CDS/ADSwill send only part of the asset, i.e. an asset fragment to theclient/target. The CDS/ADS marks the manifest so that the exactfragments sent to the client/target are precisely known. In this way,the CDS/ADS knows which fragments of the asset it needs to send to theclient. In some preferred embodiments, the client/target (CDA) keepstrack of the asset ID on the fragment, typically provided on a header.When the CDA detects a change in the asset ID, the CDA knows that a newasset is beginning. In some embodiments, the asset may be deployed(placed in the appropriate client/target environment depending on theasset type) as soon as the entire asset is received by theclient/target. In other embodiments, the client/targets waits for allthe assets on the manifest to arrive at the client/target beforedeploying all these assets at one time.

In step 1575F, the CDS/ADS examines the ADM and returns a data structureto the CDA. The examination of the ADM involves finding the next assetentry for which offset=0. The CDS/ADS then looks up the asset ID in theCDS/ADS database (e.g. cache) to find where the asset resides in theCDS/ADS asset cache. The CDS/ADS then reads the asset from the cache andbuilds a data structure for transferring the asset to the CDA. If theasset is large, the CDS/ADS may only read the asset partially, recordingan offset indicating the position the CDS/ADS was at when it completed,in this way, the CDS/ADS could continue sending the asset from theoffset where it stopped. If there are more assets, the CDS/ADS repeatsthe reading and recording process until it has read a sufficient numberof assets, either meeting the order specified in the manifest or untilthe data structure is of a sufficiently large size. The CDS/ADS thenproceeds to send the data structure containing the manifest and assets(and/or asset fragments) to the CDA.

In step 1580F, the CDA receives the data structure that is the result ofthe request in step 1575F, and proceeds to interpret the data structure.The CDA examines the ADM for the next entry that does not have an offsetof −1. If a non-zero entry is the result, the client writes the assetassociated with the asset in the entry to local storage and runs thedeploy asset adapter corresponding to the asset type indicated in theADM entry for the current asset. See the description of FIG. 15C below.Note that this way of determining offset may be one preferred embodimentand that there are many ways of performing this function known to thoseskilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

If there are entries remaining in the manifest that have an offset ofzero 1585F, the CDA proceeds to step 1570F. The reference numbers in thefollowing SQL create statement correspond to the reference numbers invarious locations in this description:

CREATE TABLE ASSETCACHE ( ASSET_ID BIGINT NOT NULL, 1372, 1172, 1194,1454 TIMESTAMP TIMESTAMP NOT NULL, 1374, 1179, 1479 JAR VARCHAR(100) NOTNULL, PRIMARY KEY (ASSET_ID)The primary key in the above tables are a well-known way of defining howa table may be stored and accessed.

For the purpose of this embodiment, two relational database views,VIEW_S9, VIEW_S7, VIEW_SSA, VIEW_S3, VIEW_S6 and VIEW_S4, are created.Step 1560F uses these views to determine which assets are candidates forclient deployment. These views are described as follows:

  CREATE VIEW VIEW_S9 ( CLIENT_ID, ASSET_ID, JAR ) AS SELECTVIEW_S7.CLIENT_ID,VIEW_S7.ASSET_ID, ASSETCACHE.JAR FROM ASSETCACHE, VIEW_S7 WHEREASSETCACHE.ASSET_ID = VIEW_S7.ASSET_ID   CREATE VIEW VIEW_S7 (CLIENT_ID, ASSET_ID, ACTION ) AS SELECT CLIENT_ID, ASSET_ID, ‘ADD’ACTION FROM VIEW_S6 WHERE ASSET_ID NOT IN (SELECT ASSET_ID FROM VIEW_S3WHERE VIEW_S3.CLIENT_ID = VIEW_S6.CLIENT_ID) AND ASSET_ID IN (SELECTASSET_ID FROM VIEW_S5A)   CREATE VIEW VIEW_S5A ( ASSET_ID, TIMESTAMP )AS SELECT ASSET_ID, TIMESTAMP FROM DEPLOYABLEASSETS WHERE ASSET_ID NOTIN (SELECT ASSET_ID FROM VIEW_S4)   CREATE VIEW VIEW_S3 ( CLIENT_ID,ASSET_ID, TIMESTAMP ) AS SELECT CLIENTASSETS.CLIENT_ID,CLIENTASSETS.ASSET_ID, CLIENTASSETS.TIMESTAMP FROMDEPLOYABLEASSETS JOIN CLIENTASSETS ON CLIENTASSETS.ASSET_ID =DEPLOYABLEASSETS.ASSET_ID WHERE CLIENTASSETS.TIMESTAMP =DEPLOYABLEASSETS.TIMESTAMP  AND CLIENTASSETS.ASSET_ID IN (SELECTASSET_ID FROM VIEW_S6 WHERE CLIENTASSETS.ASSET_ID = VIEW_S6.ASSET_ID)  CREATE VIEW VIEW_S6 ( ASSET_ID, CLIENT_ID ) AS SELECT DISTINCTASSET_ID, CLIENT_ID FROM PACKAGEASSETS JOIN CLIENTREGISTRY ONPACKAGEASSETS.PACKAGE_ID = CLIENTREGISTRY.PACKAGE_ID   CREATE VIEWVIEW_S4 ( ASSET_ID, TIMESTAMP ) AS SELECT ASSET_ID, TIMESTAMP FROMVIEW_S3 GROUP BY ASSET_ID, TIMESTAMP HAVING COUNT( ASSET_ID ) = ( SELECTCOUNT( DISTINCT CLIENT_ID ) FROM VIEW_S6 WHERE view_s6.asset_id =view_s3.asset_id )

VIEW_S6 may be used to determine the asset ids that the client isregistered to receive during client deployment. VIEW_S6 determines theassets id's from the CLIENTREGISTRY table whose package ids match thosein the PACKAGEASSET table.

VIEW_S3 may be the embodiment of the set operations that determine whichassets are up to date. The asset ids specified in the DEPLOYABLEASSETtable are intersected using asset id with the asset ids and matchingtimestamp in the CLIENTASSETS table. The result of this intersection maythen intersected with the CLIENTASSET table assets ids that are alsocontained in the VIEW_S6 view.

VIEW_S4 may be the embodiment of the set operations that determine theassets that will not be delivered to any client. The records from theVIEW_S3 view are grouped by distinct asset ids and timestamps. Theresulting values are counted and compared for equality with the count ofdistinct client ids in VIEW_S6 that have matching asset ids in VIEW_S3.

VIEW_S5A may be the embodiment of the set operations that determine thedeployable assets that are not included in the asset cache. Records fromthe DEPLOYABLEASSETS table are retrieved based on their asset ids notbeing found in the VIEW_S4 view.

VIEW_S7 may be the embodiment of the set operations that determine theassets that need to be deployed to each client based on client id.Records from the VIEW_S6 view are selected based on their asset ids thatare not found in an intersection of the records found in VIEW_S3 whoseclient ids are also in the VIEW_S6 view. The results are thenintersected with the VIEW_S6 asset ids that are in the VIEW_S5A view.

VIEW_S9 may be the embodiment of the set operations that determine whichassets are contained in the asset cache on the CDS/ADS. Records in theVIEW_S7 view are selected based on whether their asset ids match thosein the ASSETCACHE table.

When step 1560F performs the select operation on the VIEW_S9 view, thedependency chain implicit between the VIEWS may be traversed creating asingle set operation when executed in an optimized relational databasemanagement system.

In an alternate embodiment, the SQL queries used to define the viewscould be combined into a single SQL query. Such a query could beexecuted to obtain the results indicating which assets need to be addedto the ADM.

FIG. 13I is a flowchart of the node registration process (NRP) accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13J is a block diagramof a node registration specification data structure according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The NRP 15001 covers thespecification of the node registration specification data structure1500J and the committing of this node registration specification datastructure 1500J to the data store on the CDS/ADS.

In step 1510I, the node registration specification (NRS) data structure100J may be specified through either manual or automated processes. TheNRS may be comprised of a node id 1524J and a package id 1526J. Thestructure 1500J represents the packages that should be delivered to aparticular node. For example, this(ese) package(s) would represent thepackage(s) needed to provide the client/target one or more goods (e.g.movies) and/or services (e.g. financial account) information that theclient/target expects (e.g. signs up for, subscribes to, etc.).

In one embodiment, the NRS data structure 1500J may be specified as anXML document.

In step 1520I, the NRS data structure 1500J may be placed on thespecification message queue on the CDS/ADS.

In step 1530I, the CDS/ADS reads the NRS data structure 1500J from themessage queue.

In step 1540I, the CDS/ADS creates a record in the CLIENTREGISTRY tablebelow.

The reference numbers in the following SQL create statement correspondto the reference numbers in FIG. 13J:

CREATE TABLE CLIENTREGISTRY ( 1522 CLIENT_ID VARCHAR(32) NOT NULL, 1524JPACKAGE_ID VARCHAR(32) NOT NULL, 1526J PACKAGE_STATUS VARCHAR(32) NOTNULL, PRIMARY KEY (CLIENT_ID,PACKAGE_ID)The primary key used in the above tables is a well-known way of defininghow a table may be stored and accessed.

In the context of the CDS/ADS, the term adapter refers to a“component-ized” utility program that provides some standardizedinterface for any given asset type. In this way, the adapter can allowthe CDS/ADS to handle any asset type that needs to be distributed overthe network. Examples of novel adapters used with this inventioninclude: client deployment, export, version, client deployment, process,target, synchronize, discovery, adjustment, publishing, and subscriber.Each of these adapters is further described herein.

FIG. 14A is a flowchart of the version asset adapter process/method(VAM) according to one embodiment of the present invention. The VAMdefines the process of generating version information for an assetsbased on the asset type. Note that the VAM may need to retrieve versioninformation in different ways based on the type of asset. In a preferredembodiment, the VAM receives a request 1661 for an asset version thattypically comprises an asset name, an asset type, an argument string,and a version, e.g. a timestamp. The VAM then calls a Version AssetAdapter (VAA) 1662 associated with the asset type. The VAA then providescurrent version information of the asset (named by the asset name) thatconforms to the versioning convention of the version in the request.

For example, if the versioning convention of the asset type in the EISis a timestamp like the version convention of the request, the VAA looksfor the most current version of the asset (asset name) in the EIS andreturns 1664 the current timestamp for that respective asset. Forinstance, if the asset type is generally associated with an individualfile, the timestamp of the file may be used to represent the version ofthe asset.

However, if the asset (having the asset name) in the EIS does not followthe same version convention, e.g. does not use a timestamp for versioninformation when a timestamp is in the request, the VAA has to resolve1663 the difference by converting or determining indirectly the EISversion information into the convention of the version in the request.

For example, if the asset type is data, a timestamp is not used in theEIS and must be converted 1663 by the VAA based on some other versioningscheme. In a preferred embodiment, the VAA generates a checksum for thedata that needs to be extracted. Note that the asset was previouslyprovided with a check sum that was used in the version information inthe request. Therefore, the VAA can compare these two check sums todetermine if changes have occurred in the data. Thus, check suminformation may be used as a “timestamp” to determine the most currentversion of the data asset. Other techniques used for versioning areenvisioned.

Specifically, the EIS VAA can perform a query and write the results to adata structure 1664. A simple checksum can be run on the resulting dataas if it were a contiguous stream of bytes. The checksum can be sent toand stored on the CDS/ADS. Subsequently, when the CDS/ADS queries theVAA for version information, the VAA can use the checksum to determineif the data has changed. If the data has not changed, the oldertimestamp may be returned or some other indication may be made that thedata has not changed. Otherwise, if the data has changed, a newtimestamp may be returned. Thus, the returned timestamp may be changedor not depending on whether the checksum has changed or not. In thismanner, a timestamp may be used to determine the most current version ofthe data, even though another means, e.g. the check sum, may really beused to determine the version of the data.

FIG. 16B is a flowchart of the EIS export asset adapter process/method(EAM) according to one embodiment of the present invention. The EAMdefines the process of creating a generalized data structure from anynumber of assets based on the asset type. In a preferred embodiment, thedata structure is that of FIG. 2A described above, and will be referredto as such in the description below without loss of generality.

The process selects the appropriate export asset adapter (EAA), theimplementation specific construct for this adapter method, based on theasset type the adapter will create a data structure appropriate fordistribution. The data structure will depend on the asset type. Examplesof these structures are described in the table above in the descriptionof FIG. 2A.

In step 1605, the EIS deployment agent (EDA) determines if the asset isany one of the following types: static content, JSP (JavaServer Page™),or JavaBean™. This determination may be done by looking at the assettype field in the asset specification data that was sent with therequest for exportation. If the asset is one of the above types, the EDAtasks the appropriate EAA to perform step 1610. Otherwise, the EDAproceeds to step 1615. In a preferred embodiment, the asset type may beprovided with the request for exporting the respective asset thatinitiates the EAM.

In step 1610, the EAA copies the file specified by the assetspecification. The EDA then copies the file into an appropriate datastructure and proceeds to step 1645. Other asset types that can beprocessed by copying without an extended environment also would behandled this way.

In step 1615, the EDA determines if the asset type is either SB (SessionBean) or EB (Entity Bean). If the asset is one of these types, the EDAtasks the appropriate EAA to perform step 1625. Otherwise, the EDAproceeds to step 1620. In a preferred embodiment, asset types aredefined in any of the package specifications (e.g. 1190, 1100);therefore, the CDS/ADS specifies the appropriate asset type in therequest for the EIS assets.

In step 1620, the EDA determines if the asset type is either RD(Reference Data) or ED (Entity Data). If the asset is one of thesetypes, the EDA tasks the appropriate EAA to perform step 1635.

In step 1625, the EAA extracts implementation class files for an EJB,and then extracts the EJB deployment descriptor and the stubs andskeletons (J2EE/EJB deployment descriptor and the stubs and skeletonswell know part of the EJB specification) from an archive specified bythe asset specification. The EDA then copies the EJB implementationclass file, as specified by the asset name field and dependent on theEJB implementation on the EIS node, into the LD layer of the asset datastructure. EDA copies the J2EE/EJBdeployment descriptor and stubs andskeletons into the extended environment part of the asset datastructure. The EAA then proceeds to step 1630.

In step 1630, the EAA determines if the asset type is SB, if so, the EAAproceeds to step 1635, otherwise, the EAA proceeds to step 1645. Thetype may be determined by examining the specification.

In step 1635, the EAA determines if the asset specification has aspecification of a “where clause”. The “where clause” is a string thatspecifies information that may be used to perform an SQL query. If a“where clause” is specified the EAA proceeds to step 1640, otherwise theEAA proceeds to step 1650. Where clauses are well-known in SQL.

In step 1640, the EAA selects data from a table in a database on the EISnode. The table for the selection may be specified in the assetspecification and the “where clause” for specifying a subset of the datamay be from step 1635. The EAA places the records resulting from thedatabase record selection in the respective LD layer.

In step 1645, the EDA takes the data structure created in the proceedingstep and sends the data structure to the CDS/ADS.

In step 1650, the EAA selects all the records from the table specifiedin the asset specification. Then the EAA proceeds to step 1645.

FIGS. 14B-14D are a flowchart of an alternative preferred EIS exportadapter process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

While process 1600 creates a package data structure (above), in analternative embodiment, the export adapter process 1600B creates 1650Bone or more preliminary package specifications of one or more digitalassets. In this preferred embodiment, a packaging adapter process 1600Cmay be used to create the final package of digital assets.

The process 1600B starts by traversing an intermediate representation2100C (below) of one or more parts 100F of a computer system created bythe discovery process while applying one or more context rules 1610B todetermine a context of the parts 100F. Processes for traversing graphsare well-known. For example, see well-known works by Prim, Kruskal,Dijkstra, et. al. In step 1615B, the process 1600B determines if thecontext is a standard specified context.

A standard specified context describes a common topological deploymentpattern of EIS files and data throughout the file systems of a computeror network of computers. In addition, a context contains other rules andinformation (described below). Deployment patterns covering the filesand data for many computer system parts 100F, and particularly, for mostcomplex business application software products such as EIS applicationservers, EIS Web servers, DBMS products, CRM products, etc, have becomestandardized over time due to the formal recommendations of standardsbodies, through popular acceptance become industry custom, or throughthe stated requirements of the providers of such system part orsoftware.

For example, when the Sun Microsystems product Java Web Server™ isinstalled, a specific directory on the computer must be identified asthe directory where HTML files are placed. Through custom, thisdirectory has been named “public_html”. Other, later Web and applicationserver software products followed this custom, and now, most Web andapplication server products require or recommend placement of HTML filesin a directory named “public_html”. Other directory names have becomestandard locations for specific files or types of files in Web andapplication servers. These include “cgi-bin” as the location of variousscript files, and “servlet” for Java language servlet files.Web/application server products which follow one or more of thesedirectory naming customs include Inprise AppServer, BEA's Weblogicapplication server, and the Tomcat Web server.

More generally, a directory named “lib” may be utilized by many complexbusiness software products as a location for callable methods,sub-programs, and functions. Examples of software products that use a“lib” directory for this purpose include IBM Corp's DB2 DBMS, GhostgumSoftware's GSView (a product for viewing postscript documents), theInprise AppServer, Oracle® DBMS, and TogetherJ from Objectlnternational,Inc. (a product for authoring, viewing and managing UML diagrams). Otherdirectory names that are in common use as locations for specific filesor types of files are “bin”, “users” and “docs”. All of the above areexamples of common topological deployment patterns of system part 100Ffiles and data, which can be described by a context. A standardspecified context describes a common topological deployment pattern ofEIS files and data throughout the file systems of a computer or networkof computers.

The process 1600B executes a rule-based data-driven analysis (such asthat performed by an expert system) of the containment graph or otherintermediate representation 2100C of the subject system part 100F todetermine the context for the subject system part 100F. This rulefollowing analysis compares the topological deployment pattern of thesystem part 100F as manifest in the intermediate representation 2100Cagainst a repository of candidate standard specified reference contextsto determine if the topological deployment pattern matches one of thereferenced standards in the repository.

Given well-known topological deployment patterns of system part 100Ffiles and data (as described above), such an analysis can identify thecontext of the subject system part 100F (i.e. Win32® application, J2EEapplication, BEA Weblogic, etc.) without being provided with an explicitmap of the files and data for every individual system part on the EIS.By determining that the topological deployment pattern is one of astandard reference context, the process 1600B may be able to locate allthe required member objects of the system part 100F without havingdetailed information (e.g. an explicit map) of the files and data of thesubject EIS system part.

Once a context is determined, and the context is determined to be areferenced, standard specified context, the process will perform adirected search 1620B constrained to context-established locations onthe EIS. The term “directed search” indicating a goal-oriented searchutilizing a priori knowledge of the search domain is well-known.However, the directed search performed by the export process 1600Butilizes the context to constrain searches to specific EIS directoriesand may be considered novel

The other information contained in a context (as mentioned above) may bein addition to the description of a topological deployment pattern. Thisother information specifies whether 1625B an actual search 1635B of thespecific EIS (as above) directories may be required. For example, thesoftware Java language decompiling program SourceAgain (a product ofAhpah Software), requires that only a single runnable member object,“srcagain.exe” be deployed for proper use of the product. No search ofthe EIS file systems for other runnable member objects need be performedin order to utilize the software, once the “srcagain.exe” member objecthas been acquired.

Alternatively, some system parts 100F might require a search 1635B forrunnable member objects. An example of this case would be a system partwith a plurality of dynamic link libraries (DLLs), where only certain ofthe DLLs are of interest. The limitation of interest may be due to thatfact that generally, individual DLLs provide discrete functionality. Forinstance, one DLL may provide only the functionality required for localprinting, while another DLL may provide the functionality required forwireless communication. If the purpose of the discovery and exportprocesses is to enable wireless communication, the DLL to enable localprinting may be not of interest. Therefore, a rule would identify onlythe wireless communication DLL. Specifically, within the context of thesystem part 100F the wireless communication DLL would have uniquefeatures that would be used to apply the rule during the search 1635B.

Apart from determining the context of the system part 100F and apartfrom the context itself, the process 1600B uses a separate set of rulesin order to identify runnable member objects in the locations of EISspecified in 1620B.

Once the search 1635B for runnable member objects is complete, and therunnable member objects are identified, an identifier consisting of theasset id corresponding to the respective runnable member object (memberobject by member object) may be placed in a preliminary packagespecification. In one preferred embodiment is a simple list, and theasset id may be used to access the respective digital asset in the AssetInventory 2150B created by the discovery process 2100B (below).

When the process 1600B accesses the digital asset in the asset inventory2150B, the process 1600B updates the extended environment of therespective digital asset as described in detail below, the updating doneby adding one or more export descriptors to an extended environment ofthe respective updated digital assets.

If it is determined 1625B that a runnable search is not required, it maybe then determined whether 1640B a search 1645B for non-runnable memberobjects needs to be performed. If, by the context, it may be determinedthat only one (or a fix number) of identified non-runnable member objectconstitutes all non-runnable member objects of the system part 100F, nosearch 1640B needs to be performed. Identifiers for these identifiednon-runnable member objects are then placed 1650B in the preliminarypackage specifications and the process 1600B performs any other updatesto the preliminary package specification required.

Alternatively, some system parts 100F might require a search 1645B fornon-runnable member objects. An example of this case would be a systempart with a plurality of image files (e.g, .GIF files), where onlycertain of the image files are of interest. The limitation of interestmay be due to that fact that generally, image files are used by specificfunction areas of a system part 100F. For instance, in the SourceAgainapplication 108 mentioned above, there are GIF files supporting productand sales HTML pages. These product and sales HTML pages might not be ofinterest in user applications that solely require de-compilation.Therefore, rules for selection would exclude these non-runnable memberobjects from selection.

In alternative embodiment, the asset id (for runnable and/ornon-runnable member objects) may be used to access and updateinformation about the respective digital asset from the asset definitiondata structure. In this embodiment, the process 1600B can provideprocess 1600 with the preliminary package specification listing 1100A,to the table in step 1650 of process 1600 (above).

In an alternative preferred embodiment, the process 1600B can determinethat the system part 100F has no standard context 1615B. If it isdetermined that no standard context exists, an implicit traversal of theEIS files and data structures must be performed 1630B. Implicittraversal 1630B requires traversal of the entire intermediaterepresentation 2100C as opposed to the directed search 1620B.

In this alternate preferred embodiment, the search for runnables 1635Bthat may be performed during the implicit traversal of the intermediaterepresentation utilizes a number of well-known techniques. The mostwell-known technique may be examination of member object fileextensions. Generally, those member objects that meet the definition ofa runnable (as described above) have file extensions that are namedusing a well-known finite set of file extensions. For example, in aWindows NT® 4.0 environment, “.EXE”, “.JS”, “.DLL”, and “.CLASS” arecommon and well-known file extensions for (respectively) executable,JavaScript™, dynamic link library, and Java™ class runnable memberobjects. Likewise, in an Sun Microsystems Solaris 8.0 environment, a“.SO” file extension indicates that the file may be a runnable memberobject. An example rule for the search 1635B Windows NT® 4.0 environmentwould be that if a file extension is “.EXE” then select the file as arunnable member object. In one preferred embodiment, all files that arenot runnable member objects are treated as non-runnable member objects1645B.

During the execution of the searches for runnable 1635B and non-runnable1645B member objects during the implicit traversal 1630B, theidentification of each newly identified member object may be followed bya new attempt to determine a context for the subject system part 100F.Rule sets are examined and sorted in the form of a diagnostic orpattern-matching algorithm similar to the rule-based, data-drivenoperation of an expert system. At any time the process has sufficientconfidence in a conclusion, the implicit traversal may be suspended, andan execution of a directed search 1620B using the candidate context maybe performed. If the results of that directed search 1620B aresuccessful, the implicit traversal 1630B may be abandoned. If thedirected search 1620B fails, the implicit traversal 1630B may beresumed. If the implicit traversal of the intermediate representation2100C performs a complete traversal of the implicit representationwithout identifying a matching context, the implicit traversal may beconsidered a failure, and a human deployment engineer may be needed.

In these cases, the human deployment engineer could develop additionalrules to place in the expert system's rulebase so that futureinvocations of the expert system would succeed in locating all files andcompleting all searches called for in the rulebase. Although the use ofan expert system for export of assets is believed to be new, expertsystem technology is well-known in the art.

As before, the preliminary package specification may be updated 1650each time a runnable and/or non-runnable member object is identified bythe process 1600B. In alternative embodiments, the asset inventory andasset definition data structure are also updated as required anddescribed above.

The extended environments of the digital assets corresponding to therespective selected runnable and/or non-runnable member objects are alsoupdated 2150B. At the end 1685B of the process 1600B, an updated assetinventory 1665B with updated extended environments 220 may be completedfor the system part 100F. In alternative embodiments, an updated assetdata structure 1660B. A description of alternative ways to update the EE220 may be now presented.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptors include one or more commondescriptors that provide a unique identification of the digit asset onthe networks. These common descriptors include one or more of thefollowing: a common security export descriptor and a common runnabledescriptor.

In one preferred embodiment, the export descriptors include one or moredependency descriptors. The dependency descriptor includes one or moreasset dependency descriptors. In one preferred embodiment, thedependency descriptor includes one or more EIS server dependencydescriptors. These EIS server dependencies may include one or more ofthe following: EIS database management systems (DBMS), EIS servers, EISapplication servers, EIS Web application servers, one or more businessapplications, and one or more accounting application. The EIS serverdependencies also may include one or more of the following: one or moreOracle® DBMS, one or more Sybase DBMS, and one or more DB2 DBMS.

In a preferred embodiment, the export descriptors include one or moretype descriptors. The type descriptors may include any one or more ofthe following examples: static content (SC), dynamic content (DC),Enterprise JavaBeans™ (EJB), reference data (RD), session bean (SB),entity bean (EB), entity data (ED), Java™ class (JC), Java™ ConnectorFramework connectors (JCF), Java™ applet (JA), and JavaBeans™ (JB).

In one preferred embodiment, the export descriptors include one or moreasset category descriptors. These asset category descriptors may includeany one or more of the following examples: a content descriptor, apresentational descriptor, a transactional descriptor, and a relationaldata descriptor.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptors comprising one or moreasset class descriptors. The asset class descriptors include any one ormore of the following examples: base, Java™, non-Java™, language, andnon language.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptors comprise one or more schemadescriptors. The schema descriptors provide information that describeany or more of the following examples: database table names anddefinitions, database column names and definitions, database keyidentifiers and value ranges, database view names and definitions, andother well-known database schema elements.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptors further comprise one ormore metadata descriptors. The metadata descriptors provide informationthat describe any or more of the following examples: repository objectdefinitions, scope object definitions, module object definitions,operation object definitions, exception object definitions, constantobject definitions, properties object definitions, attribute objectdefinitions, relationship object definitions, type object definitions,and other well-known metadata object definitions.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptors comprise one or moretransform descriptors. The transform descriptor may describe atransformation of data in a logic/data section of the digital asset. Thetransform descriptor may also describe a transformation of logic in alogic/data section of the digital asset. The transform descriptor mayinclude the following: i) a properties descriptor that providesinformation required for use of the digital asset on an operating systemof the base execution environment; ii) a format descriptor that providesinformation required for use of the digital asset on an operating systemof the base execution environment; and/or iii) a registry descriptorthat provide information required for use of the digital asset on aWindow's operating system on the base execution environment.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptor comprises one or morereference descriptors. The reference descriptor may include any one ormore of the following: a reference link descriptor, a reference filedescriptor, and a reference directory descriptor. The reference linkdescriptor may provide a World Wide Web (“WWW”) address that hascontents used for processing of the digital asset. The reference linkdescriptor may also provide a WWW address that has contents used duringexecution of the digital asset. The reference file descriptor may be aunique fully qualified name of a file required for reference by thedigital asset. The reference directory descriptor may provide additionaladdress information that may be used to locate one or more of theassociated digital assets.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptors comprise one or moresecurity descriptors. The security descriptor may include any one ormore of the following functions: encryption, authorization, and accesscontrol.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptor comprises one or morepackage relationship descriptors that represent a part-wholerelationship between the digital asset and one or more packagescontaining the digital asset. The package relationship descriptor mayrepresent at least the following three relationships in the part-wholerelationship: a mandatory part-whole relationship, a shared part-wholerelationship, and a root part-whole relationship.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptor comprises one or moredistribution logic descriptors, each having one or more transactionsrules and one or more concurrency rules. The transactions rules specifyany of a number and a frequency of times that the digital asset can bedistributed to one or more target computers. The concurrency rulesspecify whether or not there are any restrictions on distribution of thedigital asset with respect to the distribution of one or more otherdigital asset.

FIG. 15A is the flowchart of the client deployment asset adapter (DAM)method/process according to one embodiment of the present invention. TheDAM 1700 defines the process for taking the data structure 240 createdby another asset adapter method (e.g., export 1600, process 1800, ortarget 1900) and adjusting the local environment based on the extendedenvironment 220 of the respective data structure 240. The data structure240 provides the extended environment 220. The Client Distribution Agent(CDA) selects an appropriate client deployment asset adapter (DAA), theimplementation specific construct for the DAM, based on the respectiveasset type being deployed. The CDA tasks the DAM with creating thenecessary changes to the local (i.e., target 940) environment to allowfor the asset 240 to be deployed and to execute properly. In otherwords, the DAM 1700 deploys the asset 240 on the respective clientenvironment by changing and/or adding to the client environment, ifneeded, as determined by information in the extended environment 220 ofthe asset 240.

In a preferred embodiment, in step 1705, the CDA 944 use the DAM 1700 todetermine if the asset is any one of the following types: staticcontent, JSP (JavaServer Page™), or JavaBean™. If the asset is one ofthese types, the CDA tasks the appropriate DAA to perform step 1745.Otherwise, the CDA proceeds to step 1710.

In step 1710, the CDA determines if the asset type is either SB (SessionBean) or EB (Entity Bean). If the asset is one of these types, the CDAtasks the appropriate DAA to perform step 1715. Otherwise, the CDAproceeds to step 1740.

In step 1715, the DAA (associated with SB's or EB's) inserts the EJBclasses for the respective SB/EB into the client archive appropriate forthe local environment. In other words, the DAA inserts the EJBimplementation class (on the respective asset 240) into an archive wherethe other EJBs are stored on the client, along with the stubs andskeletons of the respective EJB. The DAA also inserts the altered theclient deployment descriptor from the extended environment 220 portionof the asset data structure 220 into the client EJB environment. The DAAthen proceeds to step 1720.

In step 1720, the DAM determines whether the asset is an EB, if so, theDAM proceeds to step 1725. If not, the DAM process 1700 ends.

In step 1725, the DAM determines if the table specified in the assetlogic/data (LD) 210 exists in the local (client) database. If the tableexists, the DAM proceeds to step 1735. Otherwise, the DAM proceeds tostep 1735.

In step 1730, the DAM creates the table specified in the asset datastructure 240, then proceeds to step 1735. In a preferred embodiment,the table specification may be contained in the extended environmentsection 220 of the asset data structure 240.

In step 1735, the DAM imports the data from the data structure 240 intothe database table located on the client. In a preferred embodiment, theimported data may be extracted from the LD section 210 of the asset 240.

In step 1740, the DAM determines if the asset type is either RD(Reference Data) or ED (Entity Data). If the asset is one of thesetypes, the DAM proceeds to step 1725. In a preferred embodiment, the DAMwould also write an entry in a system database table indicating that acertain set of data was written to the database (e.g. a directoryreference), permitting any other process to be notified as to what datahas been added.

In step 1745, the DAM copies the file specified by the asset 240 fromthe data structure 240 into the location appropriate for that asset typein the file system. Each asset adapter was configured to know where tostore the assets of certain asset types. After the deploy adapter methodis run for a given asset 240, the particular target 940 has incorporatedthe necessary data, interfaces, and/or control functions to enable theasset purpose on the respective target 940.

FIG. 15B is a block diagram of one preferred J2EE transactionaldeployment sphere of control according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. At any given node on the network a transaction deployment ofassets can be enabled. In one preferred embodiment, the transactiondeployment applies to J2EE assets, i.e. components. FIG. 15B shows anygiven network node with the J2EE transactional deployment sphere ofcontrol 1700A. The node contains a well-known J2EE application server1705A. The J2EE application server contains one or more well-known J2EEapplications 1710A. The J2EE application has a Web container 1720A andpossibly an Enterprise JavaBean™ (EJB) container 1725A that are alsowell-known and referred to as J2EE application containers. Note that theJ2EE standard specifies a J2EE deployment transactional sphere ofcontrol 1715A that encompasses only the Web container 1720A and the EJBcontainer 1725A. Further note that the J2EE standard does not explicitlyapply transactional semantics to the deployment into a Web container ora transactional container (EJB container). For more completedescription, see “Designing Enterprise Applications with the Java™ 2Platform, Enterprise Edition” Nicholas Kassem and the Enterprise TeamVersion 1.0.1 Final Release Oct. 3, 2000 which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety.

The Web container 1720A can contain static content, Java™ Servlets,JavaServer Pages™ (JSP), HTML pages, and XML pages. The EJB containercan contain enterprise beans. All of these can be referred to ascontainer components. he CDS/ADS can deliver and deploy containercomponents, called delivered J2EE components to the respective Webcontainer 1720A or EJB container 1725A. Delivered J2EE componentsinclude delivered J2EE Web components 1730A, delivered J2EE EJBcomponents 1735A, and delivered J2EE application data 1740A. Thesedelivered components 1732A are well-known and part of the specificationincorporated above.

In this preferred embodiment, system parts 100F are deployed via underthe control of the CDS/ADS to the J2EE application server 1705A and anyparticipating database 1750A, typically, on one or more EISs or othersources. Therefore, there may be a logical connection 1745A through theCDS/ADS by which J2EE application data 1740A may be migrated from theoriginal source of the data to the database 1750A. In this preferredembodiment, a novel sphere of control 1776A encompasses the J2EEapplication server 1705A, the J2EE applications 1710A, the J2EEapplication containers (1720A and 1725A), the Web container, the EJBcontainer, the J2EE application container components (not shown), thedelivered J2EE components (1730A, 1735A, and 1740A, typically 1732A),and the logical connections 1745A. The sphere of control 1776A manages atransactional deployment of the delivered J2EE components 1732A and anupdate of the databases 1750A to have data consistent with the J2EEapplication 1710A. While spheres of control are well-known in the priorart, the scope of this sphere of control 1776A encompassing the database1750A as well as the J2EE application 1710A and other aspect definedhere, may be considered novel. See Davies, C. T., “Data ProcessingSpheres of Control”, IBM Systems Journal 17(2): pages 179-198, which areherein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIG. 15C is a flowchart of the implementation process of one preferredJ2EE transactional deployment within the sphere of control according toone embodiment of the present invention. The process 1700B begins withthe CDS/ADS having acquired and delivered the following components inany combination: J2EE EJB components, J2EE Web components, and/or J2EEapplication data. Step 1701B tests if database only information isreceived or not. If only database information is received, the process1700B goes to step 1750B. Step 1703B tests if only J2EE components arereceived or not. If only J2EE components are received, the process 1700Bgoes to step 1725. If both 1705B database information and J2EEcomponents are received, the process goes to both steps 1725B and 1750B.Step 1750B of the process 1700B attempts to open 1750B the database1750A. Step 1750B also attempts to deploy the J2EE application data1740A into the database 1750A. If this deployment fails (succeeds), thedatabase 1750A provides the process 1700B notification that the databasedeployment failed (succeeded). Step 1725B communicates with the J2EEapplication server 1705A and requests the server 1705A attempt to deploythe J2EE Web component 1730A into Web container 1720A. Step 1725Balso/alternatively can request the server 1705A attempt to deploy theJ2EE EJB components 1735A into the EJB container 1725A. If either orboth of these attempts fail or succeeds, the J2EE application server1705A provides the process 1700B notification of the respective failureor success.

In the event that there is either only a database available to open, or,only one of a J2EE Web container or J2EE EJB container to open, theprocess 1700B handles these events using prior art methods, (not shownin FIG. 15C) and returns any result codes from those prior art methods.Database vendors provide this functionality to report failures andsuccesses in accessing data in their databases 1750A. While thedeployments and notifications are J2EE application server are vendorspecific, in general, the deployment and notification of failure orsuccess are defined by the J2EE specification incorporated above.However, deployment and notification of failure for the database 1750Aexternal to the server 1705A are not disclosed or recognized in the J2EEspecification. Reasons for this failure to disclose are based upon theintentionally partitioned design of J2EE applications betweenpresentation, business logic, and external (backend) databases 1750A.For further elaboration of those reasons see page 15 of thespecification incorporated above. Applications deployed using ourinvention preserve the flexibility in choice of database 1750A andapplication server 1705A which the J2EE architecture has been designedto provide, but, in addition, provide a level of deployment managementabove either the application server 1705A or database 1750A alone. Thislevel of deployment management may be exercised at the scope of thesphere of control 1776A described in 1700A.

Step 1710B determines if the opening of the database 1750A and theattempt to deploy data into the database 1750A was successful or not.Step 1715B determines if the opening of the containers (1720A and/or1725A) and the attempt to deploy the respective J2EE Web components andJ2EE EJB components into the containers (1720A, 1725A) was successful ornot.

In one preferred embodiment, the prior version of the delivered J2EEcomponents 1732A including the J2EE application data 1740A are deleted(disposed of) 1720B only if both the deployment of the J2EE applicationdata 1740 and the deployment of the J2EE Web components 1730A and theJ2EE EJB components 1735A into the respective Web container 1720A andthe EJB container 1725A is successful 1730B. In another preferredembodiment, the manifest specifies the exact components/assets to beremoved, and the purge operation may be performed on thosecomponents/assets.

If the opening of the database 1750A and the attempt to deploy that datainto the database 1750A is unsuccessful but the deployment of the J2EEWeb 1730A and EJB 1735A components is successful, the previousapplication running on the J2EE server 1705A may be restored 1742B. Thisprovides a durable and consistent state for the server 1705A. In apreferred embodiment, the current state of the database and applicationcontainers may be stored before attempting to deploy. This may be donevia a combination of the synchronization lifecycle step and exportadapters for the container. The synchronization step sends new DBMSupdates back to the distribution server, if there is a conflict withbackend data, it will be resolved and sent back to the target node. Theexport of application container state allows for the successfulrestoration of the application containers without completely revertingto the last distribution. Optionally, additional actions can be takenthat are governed by failure rule execution 1744B. For example,notifications could transmitted to a system administrator, or written toa system log or monitor. Conversely, if opening the containers (1720Aand/or 1725A) and/or the attempt deploy the respective J2EE Web 1730A orEJB 1735A component is unsuccessful and the opening and access of thedatabase 1750A to deploy data 1725B is successful 1715B, the database1750A updates are rolled back 1744B.

If both 1731B the opening/deployment 1750B into the database and theopening/deployment 1725B into the containers fail (1710B, 1715B, 1730B),either no action is taken or one or more failure rules are applied1740B. Failure rules govern the behavior of the process 1700B in theevent of both (1710B, 1715B) failures. Examples of failure rulesinclude: a retry of the data object deployment, a retry of the deliveredJ2EE component deployment, a retry of the failing deployment, anaccessing of an alternative source for the data of the failed datadeployment, and an accessing of an alternative source for the componentof the fail component deployment.

FIG. 16 is the flowchart of the CDS/ADS process asset adaptermethod/process (PAM) according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. The PAM defines the process of creating a version of theasset 240 that may be appropriate for the target's (e.g. client) baseenvironment. More specifically, the asset's logic/data portion 210and/or extended environment 220 may be translated in such a way that itcan allow the asset to perform its functions in the target's baseenvironment. For example, the asset 240 may have come from a source'sbase environment such as a Weblogic EJB. The target's base environmentmay be OpenEJB (or JBOSS). Therefore, the asset's extended environmentwould need to be converted from Weblogic to OpenEJB (or JBOSS).

In step 1805, the CDS/ADS determines if the asset type is either SB(Session Bean) or EB (Entity Bean). If the asset is one of these types,the CDS/ADS tasks the appropriate process asset adapter (PAA), theimplementation specific construct for this adapter method, to performstep 1810. The PAA may be selected on the basis of both the asset type(LD portion) and the target format/environment. In alternativeembodiments, the PAA may be selected on the basis of the extendedenvironment (EE) and/or the LD and the target format/environment. Inother preferred embodiments the PAA may be selected on the basis ofdescriptors contained in the EE 220.

In step 1810, the PAA translates the deployment descriptor (The word“descriptor” can refer to the descriptors that actually comprise thetype of EJB asset 240 discussed in this section and is well-known in theEJB specification. These descriptors are explicitly differentiated fromthe descriptors that comprise the EE 220 and are described in FIG. 2C.)into the target (client) format. The EJB deployment descriptor may beobtained from the data structure 240 corresponding to the asset idlocated in the asset cache; more specifically, it is the extendedenvironment 220 portion of the asset. PAA also removes the EJBimplementation from the LD 210 portion of the asset 240. The PAA thenproceeds to step 1815.

In step 1815, the PAA generates the EJB stubs and skeletons for thetarget environment. The PM places the EJBs from the asset cache onto thefile system. Then the PAA executes the appropriate utilities to generatethe classes that the default EJB environment (at the client) willrequire to execute the EJB (these are the stubs and skeletons). The PAAthen proceeds to step 1820.

In step 1820, the PAA moves the new stubs, skeletons, and translateddeployment descriptor back into the asset data structure 240. Morespecifically, the stubs, skeletons, and translated deployment descriptorare moved into the extended environment 220 section of the asset. ThePAA then moves the data structure 240 back into the asset cache.

In a preferred embodiment, the Process Adapter Method Process (PAM) 1800may be performed on one more assets 240 before the assets 240 are cachedin the CDS/ADS cache memory. In this embodiment, the process methodperforms any intermediate processing required. For example, the EJBadapter's process method could create the appropriate EJD proxies, sothis processing does not occur at the client.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of the CDS/ADS target asset adapter method (TAM)according to one embodiment of the present invention. The TAM definesthe process of creating a targeted data structure from any number ofassets 240 based on the asset type and other asset information. Theprocess 1900 selects the appropriate target asset adapter (TAA), theimplementation specific construct for this adapter method, based on theasset type and tasks the adapter with creating a data type appropriatetargeted for distribution to a particular client node. The processmethod may be performed for an asset for all respective targetenvironments that are registered for the package(s) that contain therespective asset. The target method may be processing that is requiredfor an asset for one or more particular target/client that may beregistered for the respective asset.

In step 1905, the CDS/ADS determines if the asset type is either RD(Reference Data) or ED (Entity Data). If the asset is one of thesetypes, the CDS/ADS tasks the appropriate TAA to perform step 1910. Instep 1910, the TAA retrieves a “where clause” specified in the assetdata structure 240, typically in the extended environment 220. The TAAthen does a token replacement operation on the “where clause”. In apreferred embodiment, the token replacement may be a basic stringreplacement operation, retrieving the replacement value from the nodespecification corresponding to the targeted node. The TAA proceeds tostep 1915. In step 1915, the TAA runs a query on the table specified inthe asset data structure 240 using the “where clause” from step 1910.The TAA proceeds to step 1920. In step 1920, the CDS/ADS takes therecords returned from the TAA in step 1915 and puts the records into asimple data structure. The CDS/ADS then puts the data structure into theLD section 210 of the asset 240 and returns the asset to the assetcache.

For example, an asset of type Reference Data (RD) might need to betargeted for each client node. The RD's “where clause” would have tokensthat need to be replaced using information in the node's registry. Theasset adapter would perform an SQL query using the transformed whereclause. The data resulting from this query would be placed in the LD 210section of the asset. The asset would then be placed back into the assetcache.

Another example of the TAA would be for the Entity Data (ED) asset type.The asset specification might indicate that a targeted query has to beperformed for each target client node. For the case of an eCommerceapplication, the ED adapter might query the status of the current ordersfor an individual customer. The data would then be distributed to thatclient. If the client's name were John Smith, only the order statusinformation would be downloaded to John Smith. He would receive hisorder status information, and no one else's. Likewise, other clientswould not receive John Smith's order status information. The query isspecific to John Smith and may be performed when the John Smith's clientnode is ready to receive the information.

In one preferred embodiment, the data resides on the EIS tier. In analternative preferred embodiment, the data may be replicated to theCDS/ADS tier and the targeted query may be performed on the CDS/ADS tieras explained in the paragraphs above.

FIGS. 18A-18B are a flowchart of the synchronize asset adapter method(SAM) according to one embodiment of the present invention. One functionof the SAM 2000 may be to move a “synchronization asset” from one ormore targets to one or more sources. (A synchronization asset 240S maybe an asset 240 that is moved from a target environment to a sourceenvironment.) The SAM typically defines the process by which one or moresource environments (910, 915) can be synchronized with the targetenvironment. However, note that in a general case, synchronization canbe used to update information, e.g. changes in assets, on any node 940in the network—including server nodes or other target nodes.Synchronization can also be used to update assets in the CDS/ADS server(or target and/or EIS nodes performing a distribution function) so thatthe updated assets in turn can be distributed to other nodes of thenetwork. While, the description below refers to moving information“back” to a source environment in order to update the respective sourceenvironment, synchronization can be used to move required informationany where on the network to any given network node to provide newinformation and/or updated information without loss of generality. Notethat in some embodiments, the synchronization process could be theexport process 1600 with the source and target roles reversed. However,a preferred embodiment, uses process 2000 for synchronization.

The first step involves the target environment creating asynchronization asset. The synchronization asset may be subsequentlymoved to the CDS/ADS, then onto the source environment. The sourceenvironment may be synchronized with the synchronization asset.Synchronization means that the source environment will be changed toreflect a change in one or more of the target environments. In step2010, the CDA may be called by an external process (e.g., in the baseenvironment of one or more targets or any other process external to theCDS/ADS) indicating that a synchronization should happen. The SAMproceeds to step 2020. The call includes argument data that the CDA willpass on to the synchronization asset adapter (SAA) in an hidden fashion.The SAA may be an implementation of the SAM 2000 for a particularrespective asset type. See step 2020. For example, the assetspecification, e.g. 1175, for an ED type may have argument data thatindicates that a synchronization should happen every time that adatabase record in the table corresponding to the ED is changed. Theclient DBMS would be notified when the ED was deployed into thetarget/client environment in which this event needs to occur. The clientDBMS would then call the CDA when the database record had changed,passing arguments to indicate the asset type, ED, and arguments thatallow the SAA (for the respective ED) to know how to build thesynchronization asset (or the change in information).

In step 2020, the CDA selects the appropriate synchronization assetadapter (SAA) for the asset type indicated by the caller of the process.The CDA passes the hidden arguments to the SAA, which proceeds to step2030. In step 2030, the SAA determines if the asset type is ED or EB. Ifnot, the method ends, if so, the method proceeds to step 2040. In step2040, the SAA determines which table is associated with the asset byexamining the arguments. The SAA then retrieves the synchronizationinformation from the client environment for the respective asset. In thecase of an ED or EB, the retrieval information constitutes theinsertion, deletion, and updating of database records which constitutethe changes that the data has undergone at client since being deployedinto the client target environment for this respective asset. In step2050, the SAA contacts the CDS/ADS, and transfers the asset datastructure 240S to the CDS/ADS. For example, this part of the SAA,running on the client environment, can update the LD 210 and/or the EE220 parts of the respective asset 240 to covert the asset 240 to asynchronization asset 240S. In step 2060, the CDS/ADS determines which(source) EIS node is associated with the asset. The CDS/ADS does this byretrieving data from the asset specification 1175, e.g. machine location1174. Note that this step, the SAA (i.e. step 2060) in this example maybe running on the CDS/ADS. In step 2070, the CDS/ADS initiates aconnection to the appropriate EDA on the EIS (source) node determined instep 2060, and sends the synchronization asset 240S to the EDA/sourcenode. In step 2080, the EDA examines the asset data structure 240S todetermine the asset type. The EDA then selects the appropriatesynchronization asset adapter (SAA) 2000 for that asset type. Note thatthis SAA may be running on the source node/EIS. In step 2090, the SAAdetermines if the asset type is ED or EB. If not, the method ends, ifso, the method proceeds to step 2095. In step 2095, the SAA applies thesynchronization information (e.g. LD 210 and/or EE 220) in thesynchronization asset 240S of the source environment. Since this is anED or EB, the changes involve the insertion, deletion, and updating ofdatabase records against the source database for the respective asset.

In one embodiment, the synchronization for data assets, ED & EB, areachieved by recording the SQL queries that are applied to the databasetable. The queries are recorded in a data structure that may be writtento a file. The file can then be transferred to the database server node,via one or more CDS/ADS nodes. Once the file is on the (source) EIS nodewith the database table the data originated, the SQL queries are appliedto the database table. If the database table has been partitioned well,the queries will synchronize the sub-partition of the table to the stateof the table on the client node. In alternative embodiments, the sourcenode can be updated with the entire synchronization asset 240S or withjust the necessary changes that are to be made to the respective asset.

The routing of the data from the client node to the EIS node is achieveddue to the CDS/ADS nodes keeping the routing information for the data.When it comes time to synchronize the data, the CDS/ADS nodes know wherethe originally received the data came from and the CDS/ADS sends thedata back through those respective nodes. Note that the SAM/SAA 2000 isa process that may be typically distributed over several tiers of thenetwork. The SAM/SAA provides processing support for the synchronizationasset on its “life cycle” 240L journey back to the source (EIS) node. Onthis journey the synchronization asset 240S carries informationreflecting the changes made to the associated asset deployed on itsrespective remote client environment. These changes are then updated atthe source. In a preferred embodiment, the SAM/SAA 2000 can combinesynchronization assets 240 from multiple targets/clients into a“coalesce synchronization asset” that in sent by itself back to thesource (EIS). In this manner, changes for many assets deployed over manyclient/targets can be updated at the source/EIS by processing the singlecoalesced synchronization asset. This can decrease throughputrequirements to the source (increasing speed) and decrease processing atthe EIS.

FIGS. 19A-19B are a flowchart of the EIS discovery asset adaptermethod/process (DAM) according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. The DAM defines the process of discovering the assets 240that need to be combined into a package 1100, also referred to as anexecution unit. An execution unit has an execution graph (expressed orimplied) associated with it, describing the path of execution as oneprocess calls another. The DAM identifies each asset type, thenidentifies dependent assets that are candidates for inclusion in thesame package.

In step 2110, the EIS calls the DAM to start the asset determinationprocess. In a preferred embodiment, the DAM begins with the top-levelpage, typically a Java Server Page (JSP). The JSP is a server sidescript that may be executed to create a Web page. The choice of the Webpage as the starting point for determining the dependency graph for theapplication may be based on the utility of such a starting point. Inother situations it may be appropriate to use a different starting pointfor determining the execution graph or dependency tree. Typically, theJSP may be an XML based document that has both HTML and Java source codemixed together.

In step 2115, the DAM attempts to generate other asset candidates byidentifying the HTML hyperlinks 2125 b. Identification of thesehyperlinks may be based on a text search 2115 a for image or navigationlinks in the JSP document. Once these elements are identified, theirname may be added to the asset candidate list. After identifying eachcandidate from the HTML, the DAM proceeds to step 2120. In otherembodiments, the “edges” of the call graph are determined. This can bedone by doing a text search for method calls in the program. See below.

In step 2120, the DAM identifies the Java™ objects that the JSP willinstantiate. The DAM generates the servlet class corresponding to theJSP. The class is generated by a well-defined mapping in the JavaServlet specification. The class may be then compiled into Java bytecodes. The byte codes are then examined to determine which classes areloaded by the servlet. In this way, the DAM determines which Javaclasses are used by the JSP. Once these classes are identified, the DAMincludes those classes as asset candidates and proceeds to step 2125.

In step 2125, the DAM retrieves the next asset candidate off of theasset candidate list (ACL). The DAM then proceeds to step 2130. If theACL is empty, the DAM proceeds to step 2180. Note that the ACL can be adata structure that is identical to the data structure of the assetdefinition data structure 1175.

In step 2130, the DAM determines if the asset is static HTML. Thisdetermination may be based on the file extension being either “HTML” or“HTM”. If the file extension is a match, the DAM proceeds to step 2135,otherwise, the DAM proceeds to step 2140.

In step 2135, the DAM searches through the HTML text looking for either“IMG” or “A” tags. These tags represent portions of the HTML documentthat would cause a Web Browser to initiate a load of an image or anotherHTML document. For each of the tags that match, the DAM creates anotherentry in the ACL. When the HTML document has been completely searched,the DAM proceeds to step 2125.

In step 2140, the DAM determines if the asset is a java class file(JCF). If the asset is not identified as a JCF, the DAM proceeds to step2155. Otherwise, the DAM proceeds to step 2145.

In step 2145, the DAM generates an external call graph (ECG) for theJCF. The ECG may be a list of the method calls that are made within theclass represented by the JCF. The ECG may be generated usingdecompilation technology. Decompilation technology is the capability oftaking a compiled program and recreating the original source code. Afterthe class has been decompiled, those methods made against externalclasses are placed in the ECG. The DAM then proceeds to step 2150. Notethat both in steps 2120 and 2145, the method calls are determined byeither byte code examination or decompilation. Either method can be usedin either step. Decompilation is the inverse of compilation, translatingan executable file into a higher level language. Examples ofdecompilation technology would include the following products: Mocha,DejaVu, WingDis, Jad, Jasmine, SourceAgain, GuavaD, and HomeBrew.

In step 2150, the DAM transforms the ECG into asset candidates. The DAMiterates through the ECG adding an entry in the ACL for each call thatresults in a unique asset descriptor. The DAM then proceeds to step2125.

In step 2155, the DAM determines if the asset is a JAR file. If theextension of the file is not “JAR”, “WAR”, or “EAR”, the DAM proceeds tostep 2125. Otherwise the DAM proceeds to step 2165.

In step 2165, the DAM generates an external call graph (ECG) for the foreach java class in the JAR file. The ECG may be a list of the methodcalls that are made within the classes contained in the JAR file. TheECG may be generated using de-compilation technology (see 2150).

In step 2170, the DAM determines if the assets from 2165 are EJBs. TheDAM matches the method signature against that of the interface forEJB's. If there is a match, the DAM then proceeds to step 2175.Otherwise, the DAM adds the assets to the ACL and proceeds to step 2125.

In step 2175, the DAM determines the assets' EJB type. In a preferredembodiment, this is done by examining the descriptor entry for the bean.The DAM reads the XML deployment descriptor in the JAR file thatcontained the EJB. Searching through the XML deployment descriptor, theDAM finds the entry matching the filename of the EJB. There is an entrythat specifies the EJB type. This type determines the asset type for theEJB. The DAM then proceeds to step 2180.

In step 2180, the DAM determines the data assets that are required forthe assets that were identified. A search through the de-complied codefor common database access methods yields table names, operations, and“where clauses”. These are all common elements of database operations.These elements are each identified as an entity data asset type. It isexpected that the database assets will need to be altered by adeployment engineer. If there is a “where” clause, the asset is anentity bean and the process 2100 proceeds to step 2190 where the type ofthe asset is set to “entity bean” (EB). However, if there is no “where”clause, the asset is a session bean and the process 2100 proceeds tostep 2195 where the type of the asset is set to “session bean” (SB).

In a preferred embodiment, property files are searched for SQL queries.It is a common practice to store resource strings in property files. Thestrings associated with database statements would be likely candidatesfor being stored as resources.

In a preferred embodiment, additional assets would be discovered throughthe tracing of JSP chaining. JSP documents have the ability to specifyother JSP documents that will be called from the current document.

In an alternative preferred embodiment, the byte codes for the Java™classes would be disassembled and examined for SQL statements andexternal method calls. The disassembly of the Java™ byte codes containsa string pool. The string pool contains all the static strings that aredeclared in the class file. These strings provide candidates for SQLstatements. The external calls in the disassembly are identified by the“invoke’ mnemonic. Such calls that cannot be resolved to the currentclass are asset candidates.

In a preferred embodiment, the log of the Web server may be examined todetermine which URLs are accessed. These URLs provide candidates for thestart of call graphs for different packages.

In a preferred embodiment, the SQL statements are examined to determinetokens for targeting. The ‘where’ clause may contain column names thatare accompanied by some binary operator with a literal string as theother operand. The configuration entry that specifies the Entity Data(ED) and/or Reference Data (RD) ‘where’ clause can be assembled from the‘where’ clause by substituting the string literals with tokens. Thesetokens will later be replaced by the target asset adapter 1900.Existence of string literals indicates that the query should be part ofan ED asset rather than a Reference Data asset.

In a preferred embodiment, the DAM determines if there are secondarytables that should be asset candidates. If the DAM determines that atable is a candidate for an ED asset, the DAM will examine the schemafor the table referenced. From the schema information, foreign key (FK)relationships are determined. These relationships indicate secondarytables that are dependent on the current table, and show therelationship as indicated by the columns specified in the FK. If thePrimary Key (PK) in the secondary table contains columns that matchthose columns that had tokens assigned during the previous embodiment,those tables become candidates for being Reference Data assets.Otherwise, any table that does not meet the previous condition isspecified as an ED asset candidate. In a preferred embodiment, the unionof the columns specified in the where clauses for a particular tablespecify those columns that need to be selected and created in the targetenvironment.

This invention is not limited to Web based applications. In alternativeembodiments, other types of programs, e.g. C++, ASP, Visual Basic®,Delphi,® Fortran®, etc. can be processed by the discovery method 2100 bygenerally searching through the program in the Execution Call Graphdefined sequence and identifying all calls to external programs thatneed to be listed on the ACL. In alternative embodiments, the user canprovide their own DAM.

The adjustment asset adapter method 2100A, in FIG. 19C, may be used todetermine on optimal way to process an asset, e.g. if an asset needs tobe routed differently or executed on a different environment. When theadjustment method is called, it may be given a context to examine. Thecontext allows the adjustment method to determine specific informationabout the environment in which the adjustment asset adapter method isrunning within. The context contains topics and/or constraints such as:routing, network load, CPU load, local license server location and/oravailability, local certificate server, costing, and other topics thatmight allow the adjustment asset adapter to make decisions about how itsassets 240 should be distributed in a more optimal manner. If thetopic/constraint does not exist, the adjustment asset adapter method mayadd a query entry that will prompt various agents for the type ofinformation that the adjustment asset adapter method needs in order toadjust the distribution of assets. Some topics/constraints include loadbalancing, optimal distribution pathway on the network, closest ISP orlocal server, service level agreements, and migration.

One constraint that can be handled by the adjustment asset adapter maybe load balancing. In one preferred embodiment, statistics based on thecomputational environment are fed back into the CDS/ADS. Thesesstatistics are then used to determine which computational environmentsare most available for executing program functionality. A commonalgorithm would be a round robin. When providing asset distribution, itmay be useful to differentiate between the possible different routes anasset can take from source to target, and even the source from which theasset originates. The ability to track network load and determineoptimal routing on the network can support Service Level Agreements inthat a better load profile and routing path can be sold at a premium.

Migration occurs when assets that are deployed in one physical area of anetwork move to cause local areas of over or under use (“growth andshrinkage.”) As an application is executed, or as a target moves througha network topology (e.g. a wireless device or other pervasive devicephysically moving with respect to the network), the actual assetdistribution across the tiers of the network could change. If there is agreater demand for an application, the distribution system should movethe appropriate assets toward the area of demand in order to reducecommunication distances and to increase reliability in that smallerportions of the network will be used. However, the distribution of theseassets might need to conform to constraints such as load balancing andservice level agreements. Furthermore, as the demand lessens in parts ofthe network, it might be optimal to move assets from locations of heavyactivity to those locations with less activity in order to free upresources for applications that have a higher demand. The same “growthand shrinkage” also can occur when a location of a target environmentmoves through a network topology, e.g. from a large city to a ruralarea. In this case, optimization can only occur if the targetenvironment is tracked in a dynamic fashion and the assets can bephysically moved to meet the changing criteria as enabled by theprocesses in this disclosure. In a preferred embodiment, thedistribution of the assets may be reconfigured over the network topologybased on the demand caused by the execution of the application and/or orother criteria.

Another significant use of the Adjustment Asset Adapter Method can be todetermine from where and through which route which asset is obtained oris executed if an application execution requires assets that are not inthe local server. This function may need to invoke other adapter methodsto query the available options regarding to the source, route and thechoice of either executing remotely through bridging or transporting theasset into local server in order to execute its own logic to optimallyselect the asset arrangement for the application. This function alongwith other functions makes each of the nodes into a truly distributedserver.

FIG. 19C is a flowchart of the EIS adjustment asset adaptermethod/process (AAM) according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. The AAM defines the process of adjusting and measuring thedistribution of assets. Adjusting the distribution may be achieved bychanging the package specification 1100. In a preferred embodiment,measurement uses the synchronization 2000 facility to pass metrics backthrough the system, e.g. back to the source (e.g., EIS). The adjustmentsystem can enable or disable a certain set of functionality to optimizethe system based on external factors/criteria.

In step 2110A, various elements produce metrics, which are fed into theadjustment method's models (see below). (Elements are inputs to theperformance models that can be provided by a user, designer, and/or someexecuting process, e.g. an adapter method.) Performance metrics include,but are not limited to: data transfer between agents, transaction persecond for computational environments, condition of a secure networkconnection, the number of clients per second that have been accessing adistribution server, or simply distance of assets from their target.

In step 2120A, different models that define some network optimizationare run. For example, to optimize load balancing, a load-balancing modeldetermines which servers have the capability to facilitate distributionof assets. To optimize quality of service, a QoS model determines thesecurity and performance of the network paths for asset distribution. Tooptimize asset routing, a routing optimization model calculates the bestpath for asset distribution. Many of these models are well-known in theprior art.

In step 2130A, the model produces results indicating the changes thatneed to be made to optimize the criteria the model is designed tooptimize. In many preferred embodiments, this optimization requires there-location, movement, and/or re-routing of assets and/or computationalrequests. These changes may result in an asset being moved to anothercache, closer to a target environment or on a more secure network path.Other possible changes might include the choice of an alternate targetenvironment for asset delivery, or the selection of an alternatecomputational environment in which to fulfill a request for execution.

These changes are applied to the distribution of the assets. In otherwords, step 2130A determines where assets should be in order to producethe optimization of the model. For example, with a load-balancing model,each node can keep track of how many requests it can generate and howlong each request takes. There would be some adaptive grouping ofdifferent requestors into groups for load balancing, the requeststatistics would determine which intermediate computational environmentwould service a request. For distribution, we would keep track of theCDS/ADSs that were providing the assets to each computationalenvironment. If one CDS/ADS was providing an inordinate number ofassets, that CDS/ADS might refer the requesting CDA to a peer CDS/ADS.

In another example, with the Service level agreement model, a servicetoken may be added to all transfers. When a package needs to betransferred or processed, the service token is examined. If there areother packages that have a higher service token, those packages aretransferred or processed before the lower level tokens or process on anenvironment with better resources. In another example, the networkrouting optimization would have a goal of asset migration. Requeststatistics are kept for each asset based on the number of times theasset was distributed and how many times the deployed asset was accessedin the client environment. Those assets that are deployed frequently ina target environment would be distributed physically closer to theclient and perhaps even deployed at the client/target. As the targetdemand for a particular asset decreased, the physical location of thatasset could be moved further from the target.

In step 2140A the process determines where the assets to be moved are,and re-directs the distribution of these assets to the locationdetermined in step 2130A. In a preferred embodiment, step 2140Are-directs these assets by changing the node ID 1524 in the noderegistration specification 1522. Note that the node ID can refer to aCDS/ADS, EIS, proxy server, or any other computer on the network inaddition to any target. In some embodiments, one or more of the assetsmay be directed through a route that meets certain routing criteria,e.g. routing under a certain speed threshold or through certain nodes.This route determination and criteria are well-known.

Now that the adapters of the invention have be disclosed and explained,a more detailed explanation with be given about the asset lifecycle 240Ldescribed in FIG. 2B. The asset goes through a lifecycle starting in thesource tier, moving through the deployment tier, into the target tier,and then optionally back through the deployment tier to the source tierand/or to any other node or nodes in the network if required. The assetadapter methods define the steps in this lifecycle where asset typespecific processing is required for the asset to continue through thelifecycle.

In the source tier, resources are discovered using the discovery assetadapter method 2100, to identify candidates for classification as assetsand, through the export adapter method, to package assets together aspackages. In a preferred embodiment, a package specification 1100 iscreated that in turn contains asset specifications 1170. The assetspecification 1170 may be stored in the deployment tier until a package1100 is scheduled for delivery.

The version asset adapter method 1660 may be used to determine thecurrent version information of the assets 240 in the source tier. Thisversion information may be compared with the target tier asset versioninformation in the deployment tier to determine if assets need to bedeployed from the source tier to the target tier.

The export asset adapter method 1600 may be used to obtain the actualcurrent version of assets in the source tier that need to be distributedto the target tier. After the assets are exported, the assets arepreferably moved to the deployment tier and stored in an asset cache.When exporting assets, the export asset adapter method captures thelogic, data, and extended environment information 220 for an asset 240and puts it into an asset data structure 240.

If an asset requires processing the processing may be done when theasset is stored in the asset cache or at any time before the asset isdistributed to either a secondary cache in the deployment tier or thetarget tier. The processing is primarily performed on the asset'sextended environment 220, in an attempt to translate the extendedenvironment 220 to run in harmony with the base environment 250 in thegiven target tier. However, the processing process may also change thelogic/data portion of the asset or both the logic/data and the extendedenvironment portion of the asset.

An agent in the target environment requests the assets that are pendingfor delivery to that target tier. The target processing asset adaptermethod 1900 may be executed against any asset that requires targetedprocessing before being sent to the target tier. Target processing isintended primarily to change the Logic/Data section 210 of the assetdata structure 240 in order to provide a unique asset that can create orhas personalized information for the specific target in which it isbeing deployed. The targeting can be for an intermediate target (aserver that will in turn serve many users) or a final target (a singlenode that will serve a single user).

When the asset is sent to the target tier, the deploy asset adaptermethod 1700 may be invoked to deploy the asset 240 into thecomputational environment, i.e., the base environment 250, in the targettier. The extended environment 220 from the asset's data structure 240may be used to set the base environment 250 and extended environment 220in the target tier to run the asset in a correct manner. The asset'slogic and data 210 are then deployed into the base environment 250, andsince the base environment 250 has been adjusted, the logic 210 willfunction correctly and the data 210 will be accessible. When changeshappen in the target tier that warrant synchronization, thesynchronization asset adapter method 2000 may be executed to create asynchronization asset and the asset 240 may be propagated back throughthe deployment tier into the source tier and the source tier resourcethat corresponds to the synchronization asset may be synchronized withthat asset.

Agent methods are now described in detail. An agent is a process orservice that can be assumed to be available in an environment. Forexample, the EDA may be available in the source environment, the CDS/ADSmay be available in the distribution environment, and the CDA may beavailable in the target environment. When the EDA, CDS/ADS, and CDAagents are described, it may be assumed that we are referring to asimple network topology with three distinct tiers: source, distribution,and target. If we consider an arbitrary network topology, withoverlapping combinations of these tiers, then it may be advantageous tohave more abstract agents to describe the functionality. Some of thesepreferred, more abstract agents are: Publish, Subscribe, Computational,and Caching.

These agents provide a generalized framework for distributing assets 240over the network. The types of assets they distribute correspond withthe asset adapters that are defined for the system. For much of thisdisclosure we refer to a set of asset adapters specific to distributingSun's J2EE Web and enterprise applications as a non-limiting example.However, other assets, as described above, can also be distributed.

In a preferred embodiment, the common agents in the simple distributiontopology are typically comprised of several agents, some commonaggregations are described here. The EDA may be comprised of apublishing agent. The CDS/ADS may be comprised of a subscriber(subscription) and caching agent. The CDA may be comprised of asubscription and computational agent. Each agent may be responsible forproviding a service interface, on a network node, that other agents canaccess. Those other agents may be on the same node/computer (todistribute and execute assets within tiers or subdivisions of thecomputer) or on different nodes/computers on the network.

FIG. 19D is a flowchart of an alternative preferred discovery assetadapter process according to one embodiment of the present invention.The discovery asset adapter process (discovery process) 2100B identifiesmember objects of one or more computer system parts 100F and establishesat least one topographical relationship among the member objects.

The discovery process 2100B starts 2105B by identifying all of themember objects. This identification can be done manually 2130B, e.g., bya systems engineer examines the system parts 100F typically bytraversing the directories of the system parts 100F, and manuallyproduces an Asset Inventory 2150B and an Intermediate Representation2160B.

Alternatively, in an automatic embodiment of the discovery process2100B, a process 2140B traverses one or more computer file systems tofind one or more of candidate objects of the system part 100F that arelocated on the computer file system. Examples of less sophisticatedprocesses that traverse one or more computer file systems include theDIR function in Microsoft® DOS, the Microsoft® Windows® Explorer, andthe LS function in the UNIX operating system. These functions arewell-known but only name the objects found within the topographicalscope of the parameters that are provided to these functions. Thesefunctions do not recognize or attempt to recognize any relationshipamong these objects other than the topographical relationship of theirlocation. These functions are not designed to identify any objects foundas being candidate member objects of any system part 100F. Therefore,these functions cannot guarantee that all of the members of any systempart will be identified. Therefore, the objects identified by thesefunctions cannot be considered candidate member objects of a subjectsystem part 100F.

The automated identification step 2140B overcomes this difficulty byusing knowledge about the specific system part 100F and the EIS systemenvironment in an expert system designed for this purpose. For example,for an expert system to identify the candidate member objects of acommon implementation of a MS-Win32 software application, the expertsystem, given the name of the system part 100F (for example, “Payroll”for a payroll application 108) and a root starting location in the EIScomputer file system, would traverse the computer file system startingat the root location, would search for a branch of the computer filesystem that matched the branch of the computer file system named in theexpert system's rulebase as the system part's “home” directory. Theexpert system would have a high expectation (expressed internally asprobabilities) that objects found in the system part's “home” directorywere, in fact, candidate member objects of the system part, and wouldadd these objects to the Asset Inventory 2100D and to the intermediaterepresentation 2100C (see below) of the system part.

Next, the expert system would traverse the computer file system to thewell-known common application directories of an MS-Win32 operatingsystem. There, the expert system would search for runnable library files(such as “.lib”) or runnable runtime files (such as .dll) named in theexpert system's rulebase specifically as the common application filesrequired for correct execution of the system part (i.e. “payroll”).Next, the expert system would traverse the computer file system tolocate the operating system specific configuration file directories (forexample, in MS-WINNT 4.0, the “WINNT” directory), and there, wouldsearch for those configuration files and files which containedconfiguration entries (such as the WINNT Registry) and add those filesto the Asset Inventory 2100D and to the intermediate representation2100C. Only after all directories and computer system files named orsuggested in the expert system's rulebase were examined, and allcandidate member objects had been placed in the Asset Inventory 2100Dand intermediate representation 2100C would the expert system reportcompletion of its task, which is production of the Asset Inventory 2150Band production of the Intermediate Representation 2160B. Any searchobjectives or file acquisition requirements stated in the expertsystem's rulebase that the above described process failed to locate andadd to the Asset Inventory 2100D and the intermediate representation2100C would be reported to a human deployment engineer, who wouldfinalize the production of the Asset Inventory 2150B and IntermediateRepresentation 2160B. Any sufficient level search result would beacceptable. In one preferred embodiment, sufficiency may be based on thegoal of being able to later distribute and execute the assets in a baseenvironment on one or more target nodes.

When the Asset Inventory 2100D and the Intermediate Representation 2100Care complete, the member objects so inventoried and identified areconsidered digital assets 240 members of the system part 100F. Thesedigital assets 240 form the parts of a part-whole relationship with thesystem part 100F. Alternatively, the human deployment engineer coulddevelop additional rules to place in the expert system's rulebase sothat future invocations of the expert system would succeed in locatingall files and completing all searches called for in the rulebase.Although the use of an expert system for discovery of assets is believedto be new, expert system technology is well-known in the art.

Now more detail is presented about the steps that the expert system (orthe human deployment engineer) had to perform in the above describeddiscovery process 2100B. The Intermediate Representation 2100C may becreated by placing an identifier as a node in the IntermediateRepresentation for each member object discovered. Before the memberobjects are recognized as digital assets, these identifiers are memberobject identifiers. Subsequent to the recognition of the member objectsas digital assets 240, the member object identifiers become or aretransformed into digital asset identifiers. In a preferred embodiment,the intermediate representation 2100C is a graph with nodes and edges.The digital asset identifier occupies one of the nodes of the graph. Theedges represent the topographical relationship of the digital assetswith respect to each other and with respect to the EIS computer filesystem.

The digital asset may be created from the member object, chosen asdescribed above, by placing the member object in a logic/data section210 of the digital asset 240 and by further creating an extendedenvironment data structure 220 (described above) that is attached to thelogic/data section 210. As stated above, the digital asset may be placedin an asset inventory container object called the Asset Inventory 2100D.In some embodiments, a definition of each of the digital assets may beoptionally entered or completed in an asset definition data structure1170, above. As already stated, these entries have descriptions of oneor more digital asset attributes of the digital asset 240.

The member objects/digital assets are processed, as above, until theIntermediate Representation 2100C fully describes the system part 100Fand the asset inventory container object (Asset Inventory) 2100D has acomplete inventory of the digital assets of interest from the systempart 100F. The asset definition data structure 1170 may then also be acomplete list of the digital assets 240 of interest in the system part100F.

The discovery process 2100B further stores one or more descriptors inthe extended environment 220 of each digital asset after the extendedenvironment of the digital asset is created. In one embodiment, thedescriptors include one or more common descriptors 210B that provide aunique identification of the digit asset on the network(s). These commondescriptors 210B can include one or more of the following: a digitalasset name of the digital asset, a unique fully qualified name of thedigital asset, an address of the digital asset, and a size of thedigital asset. These common descriptors are obtained from the EIS at thetime the digital assets are discovered.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptors include one or more assetdependency descriptors 220B. The asset dependency descriptors includeany one or more of the following: one or more names of other digitalassets on which the digital asset is dependent 222B, an assetidentifier, and one or more unique fully qualified names of otherdigital assets on which the digital asset is dependent 222B. These fullyqualified names are also obtained from the EIS.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptors include one or morereference descriptors 260B. The reference descriptors 260B include anyone or more of the following: a reference link descriptor, a referencefile descriptor, and a reference directory descriptor. The referencelink descriptor may provide a World Wide Web (“WWW”) address that hascontents used for processing of the digital asset. The reference linkdescriptor may also provide a WWW address that has contents used duringexecution of the digital asset. The reference directory descriptorprovides additional address information that may be used to locate oneor more of the associated digital assets. The reference file descriptormay be a unique fully qualified name of a file required for reference bythe digital asset.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptors include one or morerunnable descriptors 240B that indicates that the digit asset 240 is arunnable digital asset. The runnable descriptors 240B may include adescription of the EIS execution environment. For example, the runnabledescriptor might be Windows NT® 4.0, Linux® version 5.0, or Solaris®version 6.1.

In one preferred embodiment, the descriptors include one or morenon-runnable descriptors 242B that indicates that the digit asset is anon-runnable digital asset. The non-runnable descriptors 242B mayinclude a description of the EIS execution environment as above.

FIG. 19E is a diagram of a prior art graph structure, specifically acontainment graph structure, used to establish membership relationshipsof digital assets according to one embodiment of the present invention.In the preferred embodiment, the graph structure can be used as theIntermediate Representation. For FIG. 19E, in order to provideadditional detail for explanation purposes here, the nodes of FIG. 19Ehave been drawn to illustrate visually the different digital asset typesthat are the subjects of the discovery process. Further, textidentifications of the digital asset type have been placed in a numberof the illustrated nodes for further clarity. In practice, a graph maybe represented in computer memory as a data structure, containing bothnode data structures and edge data structures. See well-known works byPrim, Kruskal, Dijkstra, et. al. which are herein incorporated byreference in their entirety. Well-known algorithms dictate correctmethods for traversal of graphs of this type. Further, there existwell-known methods described to construct such a graph given thetopological relationships discovered or examined by the discoveryprocess as it follows the rules contained in the expert system rulebaseor traverses the EIS computer file system. In FIG. 19E, as non-limitingexamples of the diversity of digital assets which may be discovered,digital assets such as Runnable Script File 2130C, Non-Runnable Document2140C, Runnable Java Class 2130C, Runnable J2EE EJB File 2132C,Non-Runnable XML File 2135C, Non-Runnable HTML Document 2145C,Runnable.EXE file 2130C, Non-Runnable Data File 2150C are identified.Further, the topological relationship of these digital asset types maybe demonstrated for non-limiting example purposes by their respectivelocations in branch directories of the example computer file system,such branch directories being identified as “Users” 2112C, “Docs” 2110C,“Statistics” 2120C, etc.

FIG. 19F is a block diagram of a preferred asset inventory according toone embodiment of the present invention. This data structure containsthe assets identified by the discovery process 2100. In a preferredembodiment, the assets 240 that occupy each entry, include thelogic/data sections 210, EE sections 220, and optionally the assetinterface 230 of the discovered digital assets 240.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of a publishing agent method according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The publishing agent method (PAM)handles requests for the discovery 2100, versioning (see FIG. 14A), andexport 1600 of assets. The PAM groups together these lifecycle steps(i.e. adapter methods) in the asset lifecycle into a single agent.

Discovery 2100 is the process of determining asset dependencies thatresult in the definition of a package specification 1100 by means of theexport adapter method 1600. Versioning (see FIG. 14A) is the process ofdetermining the current version of an asset against a cached asset andupdating the cached asset if it is out of date. Export 1600 is theprocess of taking the various elements that constitute an asset andpackaging those elements into a data structure.

In step 2205, the PAM receives a request to discover the assets that areused in one or more applications. An initial asset may be specified tobegin the discovery process, then the dependent assets are discovereduntil the PAM reaches a terminating condition. In step 2210, the PAMreceives a request for the current version information for specificassets. The PAM looks to assets in the local environment to determinethe version information. In one embodiment, the PAM uses the time stampassociated with the asset as the version information.

In step 2215, the PAM receives a request for a data structure containingassets. A list of assets accompanies the request. The PAM exports thecurrent version assets from the local environment into a data structure.The PAM returns the data structure to the caller. In a preferredembodiment, the PAM splits the data structure into smaller pieces thatmay be of a more appropriate size for sending over a network.

Note that the PAM may run steps 2205, 2210, and 2215 in any orderdepending on how the requests of the PAM are received. In addition, thePAM may omit one or more of these steps. Essentially, the PAM is aconvenient way of grouping these asset life cycle steps that typicallyoccur in the source tier. Therefore, a set of asset requests can be sentto the PAM and the PAM, a single agent, will perform the necessarydiscovery, versioning, and exporting that is normally required at thesource. Note that the PAM can be considered as a package 1100 of assets240 distributable, and with a life cycle, of its own. By distributingthe PAM package of assets to any given source, that source will beenabled to discover, version, and/or export assets as required.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of a subscriber agent (SA) method according toone embodiment of the present invention. The subscriber agent method(SAM) 2300 may be responsible for an adjustment asset lifecycle step,supporting bridged computational environments (proxy capabilities,below), and dispatching requests between other agents. The SA supportsthe adjustment asset lifecycle step by logging and reporting theinteraction between all of the agents that contact the SA. The SA canprovide the proxy capabilities described in the computational bridgingadapter method. When requests are sent to the SA, those requests arerouted to the source computational environment. See computational agentbelow. When responses to a proxy request are returned from the sourcecomputational environment, the response may be sent to the targetcomputational environment, a computational agent running on the target.The SA also can coordinate the transfer of assets and informationbetween the publishing agent and caching agent. The SA performs thisfunctionality for discovery, versioning, and exporting. The SA also canprovide the transfer of assets and information between the source andtarget environments for synchronization. The SA also can coordinate thetransfer of assets information between the caching agent andcomputational agent. The SA performs this functionality for deploymentand synchronization.

In step 2310, the SA may be instructed, by the CDS/ADS, to request thatthe asset discovery be executed by the source publisher agent 2200. Thepackage specification 1100 from the export process 1600 is then receivedand stored in the distribution tier. In step 2315, the SA may beinstructed, by the CDS/ADS, to request that the asset versioning method(FIG. 14A) be executed by the source publisher agent 2200. The resultingversion information from the versioning process may be stored in thedistribution tier. In step 2320, the SA may be instructed, by theCDS/ADS, to request that the asset exporting method 1600 be executed bythe source publisher agent 2200. In step 2325, the assets resulting fromthe exporting process 1600 in step 2320 are sent to the caching agent2500 on the same node as the SA so that they can be stored in one ormore of the asset caches. In step 2330, an SA, typically in the targetenvironment, requests 1400 a manifest 1452 detailing the assets to bedistributed to the target environment from the SA in the distributiontier. In step 2335, the SA in the distribution tier requests themanifest 1452 detailing the assets to be distributed to the targetenvironment from the distribution cache and returns it to the requestingSA in the target environment. In step 2340, the SA, typically in thetarget environment, may be optionally requested to synchronize 2000 anasset. The SA proceeds to conspire with the SA in the distribution tierto forward the synchronization asset. In step 2345, the SA in thedistribution tier contacts the computational agent 2400 in the sourceenvironment and sends the synchronization asset to that agent forsynchronization. Note that the SA can be considered as a package 1100 ofassets 240 distributable, and with a life cycle, of its own. Bydistributing the SA package of assets to any given source, CDS/ADS,general server, and/or client/node will be enabled to communicate withand process requests from other SA's, and coordinate the transfer ofassets and information, as required.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a computational agent method according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The computational agent method (CA)may be responsible for providing the functionality involved withdeployment of assets into a computational environment, and generatingsynchronization assets for other environments. Additionally, the CAenables the installation of the base environment 250 as described inFIG. 24 below. The computational agent 2400 also may be responsible forproviding the computational environment for assets. The stewardship ofthe environment involves providing the services that the assets need,either directly or by proxy. In the case that a service is needed butnot available, the CA initiates the distribution of the asset 240 withthe appropriate extended environment 220 that is needed.

In step 2410, the CA 2400, typically in the target environment, may berequested to deploy 1700 an asset 240 or set of assets. The CA directsthe request to the deployment asset adapter 1700, which performs theactual processing. In step 2420, the CA 2400 in the source environmentmay be optionally requested to synchronize 2000 an asset that thesubscription agent 2300 forwards from the target environment. The CAselects the proper synchronization asset adapter 2000 to complete thesynchronization. Typical this sychronization is done in a way specificto each asset type. In step 2430, the CA 2400 in either the sourceenvironment or distribution tier either fulfills or forwards a requestfor execution. If the CA has the asset 240 that can fulfill the request,the CA runs the request against the asset, returning the result to thecaller, which may be the target environment or a subscription agent 2300that is forwarding a request. If the CA does not have an asset tofulfill the request, it calls the subscription agent, typically on thesame node, in order to forward the request to another CA. In the casethat requests reach the CA in the source environment, the requests aremade directly against the resources in that environment. Note that theCA can be considered as a package 1100 of assets 240 distributable, andwith a life cycle 240L, of its own. By distributing the CA package ofassets to any given source, CDS/ADS and/or general server will beenabled to process, deploy, synchronize, and cache assets, as required.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of a caching agent method according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The caching agent method CAM) 2500is responsible for the processing and targeted processing of assets.These functions allow the cached assets to be processed fordistribution.

The processing functionality is a general transformation that would beperformed on an asset, possibly for normalization. Normalization wouldallow the asset to be stored in a neutral format, being of someadvantage to the distribution process. Neutral formats typical involvechanges to the extended environment 220 to make the extended environment220 less specific than the source environment and enabling the extendedenvironment to execute more easily with a variety of base environments250 in the target environments. An example or a Session Bean (SB) orentity bean (EB) where the source format could be a first applicationserver and the target format could be a second application server, aneutral format would be one specified by, e.g., strictly adhering to,the J2EE specification.

The targeted processing function recognizes the need to transform theasset for the specific target environment for which it is targeted. Thisrecognition may be a result of the package specification 1100 indicatingthat a give asset should be targeted at a specific target. Thisinformation may be given in the other field 1179A in the respectiveasset definition data structure 1170. The information need for each ofthe specific target is given in a specification (node specification). Ina preferred embodiment, this is a list of name/value pairs with a tokenlabel accompanied by a substitution value for each pair. The CAM alsocan be responsible for creating and maintaining an asset cache.

In step 2505, the CAM may be requested to perform targeted processing(the processing need for the asset to execute on a specific target) anasset or set of assets. The CAM directs the request to the processingasset adapter 1800, which performs the actual targeted processing. In apreferred embodiment, this targeted processing occurs after the asset iscashed to reduce overhead of storing a targeted asset for each differenttype of target. However, targeted processing could be performed beforecaching. In step 2510, the CAM may be requested to perform processing1800 on one or more assets. The CAM forwards the request to theprocessing asset adapter 1800, which performs the processing. In step2520, the CAM may be requested to perform targeted processing on one ormore assets. The CAM forwards the request to the targeted processingasset adapter 1900, (in a preferred embodiment residing on thedistribution server), which performs the targeted processing specificfor the respective target. In step 2530, the CAM may be requested tostore an asset in the asset cache. In a preferred embodiment, the CAMperforms the functionality that is required to store the asset, andmanage the cache, including: deleting old assets, updating databasetables, and notifying the proper subsystems that a change has occurredin the asset cache. In step 2540, the CAM may be requested, via amanifest, to read assets from the asset cache and return those assets tothe caller.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of an asset distribution process according to oneembodiment of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, theCDS/ADS stores assets corresponding to the following asset classes:applications, asset adapters and agents (see below) and baseenvironment. While these three classes of assets enable differentfunctionality, they are each seen by the CDS/ADS as being assets 240 (orpackages 1100 of assets 240) as described in this document. Thedifference between these asset classes centers around the context eachof these classes is intended to support.

The assets associated with the application comprise the actualapplication elements or assets 240 that are distributed by the CDS/ADS.The application assets are “first class” assets in the entire system.Typically, these assets (assets used in applications and/or subapplications) are the major workload for the distribution server,CDS/ADS, and agents, e.g. EDA and CDA.

In addition, the asset adapters and agents (e.g. asset packaging 1300,client deployment process 1400, node registration 1500, versioning 1660,export 1600, client deployment 1700, process 1800, target 1900,synchronize 2000, discover 2100, adjustment 2100, publishing 2200,subscriber 2300, computational 2400, caching 2500, system assetdistribution 2600, streaming 2700, bridging 2800, QoS 2900, and anyother process that distributes and/or changes assets) can be themselvesassets 240, and can be distributed and processed to provide thenecessary asset lifecycle functionality in the source tier, distributiontier, and target tier. In a preferred embodiment, the EDA, CDS/ADS, andCDA are intelligent enough to determine the type of asset for each stepin the asset lifecycle, but they defer the actual asset operations tothe individual asset adapter. The actual asset adapters are themselvesapplications, therefore, in some preferred embodiments, they havepackage 1100 and asset specifications 1175 defined that allow them to bedistributed. In these cases, the asset adapters can be loaded on demand,as the EDA, CDS/ADS, and CDA need to process each individual asset.

The base environment represents those assets that are needed and arewithin which the other assets 240 run—for example: a Web server forstatic content assets (SC), a servlet engine for JSPs (JSP), a Java™Runtime Environment for Java™ class assets (JB), an application serverfor the EJB assets (SB and EB), and a DBMS for the data assets (RD, ED,and EB). Each of the servers that make up the base environmentthemselves can be applications, preferably Java™ applications, allowingthem to be defined in package 1100 and asset specifications 1175 fordistribution. The Java™ runtime environment is a native application thatis dependent on the operating system in the target environment, and isdistributed using standard installation programs, which are widelyavailable. The CDA is distributed by the boot-strap process describedbelow.

There are dependencies between these different asset classes. Thereexists an implicit relationship between the asset types and thecorresponding asset adapters, as described above. If an asset of acertain type is going to be distributed, the asset adapter for thatasset type needs to be distributed before the dependent asset to theparticular location (e.g. tier) of the network. An example would be astatic content asset type would need a static content asset adapter inorder to perform any of the distribution functionality on the asset, forexample at the CDS/ADS.

There exists an implicit relationship between the asset types and thebase environment 250. If an asset type is going to be deployed, itrequires a certain runtime environment. The base environment assets aredistributed in order to provide this environment. For example, a JSPasset would require the assets that comprise the Web server and servletengine to be installed in the target computational environment beforethe asset could be expected to run the asset in that environment. Insome embodiments, these base environments 250 are pre-installed. Inother embodiments, the base environments 250 are distributed as one ormore base environment 250 assets 240 prior to their being used. The baseenvironment 250 assets 250 could also be distributed to requiredlocations on the network by alternate, well-known network distributiontechniques.

In some embodiments, one or more asset adapters and/or agents areconsidered part of the base environment 250. For example, in the CDS/ADSsystem process adapters, target adapters, and/or subscriber agents canbe part of the base environment 250 and could be distributed orpre-installed at the CDS/ADS.

In step 2605, the distribution agent (DA), more specifically the EDA (atthe source), CDS/ADS (at the distribution level), or CDA (at thetarget/client), determines which asset adapters are needed for the assettypes that have been discovered. The asset types are specified in theasset specification 1175. In step 2610, the DA determines if those assetadapters are in the local environment, e.g. the target/node. The localenvironment contains a predefined configuration data structureindicating the asset adapters that are in the local environment. In apreferred embodiment, the data structure would be a properties file. Forthe adapters that are not in the local environment the process proceedsto step 2615. In step 2615, the DA requests the packages 1100 associatedwith the asset adapters not located in the local environment forimmediate distribution to the current node. These asset adapters comefrom the asset adapter asset cache, or, in a preferred embodiment, thesystem asset cache on the CDS/ADS. Note that assets that are not in thelocal environment might include later versions (see versioning 1660) ofthe respective asset 240. Examples of asset adapters include: SC, JB,SB, EB, RD, & ED which correspond to the respective asset types on whichthese asset adapter operate.

In step 2620, the DA determines which base applications are needed forthe asset types associated with the assets that are defined to be usedat a particular computer on the network. The asset types are specifiedin the asset specification 1175 located in the respective environment.For example, one or more client/nodes would subscribe to a particularservice. The clients would have different operating systems/platforms.The service, along with the client platform/environment, would determinethe set of assets and the set of adapters/agents required. These assets240 would be pre-installed and/or distributed to the client from theCDS/ADS (or other proxy servers). As a further example, the CDS/ADSwould need all the adapters necessary to process, target, etc. all ofthe combined target assets that would need to be distributed.

In step 2625, the DA determines if those base environment 250 assets inthe base environment are needed in the local environment. (Inembodiments where the assets required in the base environment are fixedand known, this step 2625 can be omitted.) The local environmentcontains a predefined configuration data structure indicating the baseenvironment Assets that are in the local environment. In a preferredembodiment, the data structure would be a properties file. For the baseapplications that are not in the local environment the process proceedsto step 2630.

In step 2630, the DA requests the packages 1100 associated with the baseenvironment not located in the local environment for immediatedistribution to the current node. These base environment assets comefrom the base environment asset cache (typically on the target), or, ina preferred embodiment, the system asset cache on the CDS/ADS. Examplesof base environment 250 include, but are not limited to: Web server,servlet engine, EJB container, DBMS, and CDS/ADS.

In optional step 2640, the DA would continue on to perform whateveroperations were in progress before the check of the asset adapters andbase environment 250 was performed. In general, the DA or agents likethis, e.g. the EDA (source/EIS), the CDS/ADS (at any distributionserver), and the CDA (client/target), perform these functions on anynetwork system on any tier of the network so that the systems have therequired adapters to process their assets and the required local baseenvironments to deploy their assets. As described above, these assetscan be dynamically changing as the move across the network tiers duringtheir life cycle 240L.

In a preferred embodiment, the DA would be able to bootstrap its entireenvironment. One notable exception would be base environment 250 thathave specialized installation requirements that cannot be supported bythe asset adapters. An example of a non-distributable application wouldbe a DBMS that changes operating system registry entries.

Asset streaming reduces the transmission of duplicate data. Frames aredefined as complete assets. Deltas are the difference between twoversions of an asset. One can incrementally apply the deltas against aprior frame to create a complete asset for the new version associatedwith the delta(s) of that asset. Therefore, the complete new version ofthe asset does not have to be distributed, but only the deltas thatexist between the older (prior) version and the new version.Potentially, asset updating/streaming reduces the bandwidth for datatransmission and offers opportunities for merging synchronizationassets.

In some preferred embodiments, the distribution system performsoptimizations to decrease the redistribution of assets to targets ordistribution servers. For example when an asset has changed, often thedifference between the old asset and the new asset is only a smalldifference. The streaming asset provides the additional optimization ofidentifying the parts of an asset 240 that have changed and, therefore,the parts that only need to be sent. By decreasing the amount ofinformation that is sent, the distribution can utilize less bandwidthand increase the amount of network throughput for other applications.Streaming assets represents a major conceptual shift in the distributionof applications and data across tiers of a network.

For Web-based applications, streaming can greatly reduce the amount ofredundant data that is sent across the network. For example, an onlinebrokerage application would want to supply up-to-date portfolioinformation and order status information to their customers. Withexisting technologies, the users would poll the server repeatedly togain this information. The server would be overloaded at peak times wheneveryone would want to know his or her portfolio status. The onlinebrokerage would need to increase the network and EIS resources to maketheir systems available under these circumstances, although thisscenario is not representative of their normal user load. Asset baseddistribution would decrease the interaction with the servers at the EISof the online brokerage. Only the changed data would be sent down to theuser, the static content, dynamic content, and EJBs would be located onthe user's PC, or local server. The amount of sent data is greatlyreduced between the EIS and the user, and the EIS performs far lessprocessing because it doesn't have to generate the Web page. Thestreaming asset goes one step further, assuring that only the data thathas changed is sent to the client. If only the pricing data has changed,that is all that is transferred to the user. If a small part of a singleJSP has changed, only that small change is sent to the user. Bycombining streaming assets with QoS 2900 capabilities (below), theCDS/ADS is able to support streaming media such as voice and video.

FIGS. 25A-25C are a flowchart of a streaming process according to oneembodiment of the present invention. In a preferred embodiment, thesteps of this process 2700 are an optimized supplement to steps andmethods described elsewhere in this document.

In step 2705, the Export Asset Adapter (EAA) determines that the assetspecification indicates that the current asset should be treated as astreaming asset. The EAA then performs a test 2707 based on the assettype to determine if a frame or delta needs to be generated. On anasset-by-asset basis, this is done to determine the differences betweena prior asset, e.g. located on a client, and a current asset (latestversion) typically located on the source/EIS. In a preferred embodiment,a copy of the prior asset is retained at the source/EIS to facilitatethis test/comparison. If a frame needs to be generated, the EAAcontinues to step 2710. If a delta needs to be generated, the EAAcontinues to step 2715. For example, if the asset type is an EB, ED orRD, the EAA would query the data and based on the amount of data thathas changed, would either generate a frame or a delta.

In step 2710, the EAA continues to export the asset as it normally wouldin the export asset adapter method 1600. The frame asset can beconsidered the same as the asset described in the other methods, andtreated in the same manner. The EAA indicates that the asset is a frameasset by setting a value in the asset data structure 1175 to indicatethis state.

In step 2715, the EAA creates a delta for the asset. A previous copy ofthe asset may be compared with the current asset. The difference betweenthese two assets is the delta that will be used to create the deltaasset. The resulting delta asset represents the changes that would needto be applied in the target environment that has had all the previousdeltas applied to the last frame. For example, if the asset type is EB,ED or RD, the EAA would query the data from the source database andwould either generate the delta. In one embodiment, the EAA wouldgenerate a version of the last asset by applying the deltas against thelast frame. The EAA would then perform a row-wise (record-wise)differentiation between the last asset and the current data. Then a(table) column-wise differentiation would be applied. (Difference orcomparisons functions are well-known.)

In step 2720, the EAA continues to export the asset as it normally wouldin the export asset adapter method 1600. The delta asset may be treatedthe same as the asset described in the other methods, and treated in thesame manner (e.g. sent to the CDS/ADS). The EAA indicates that the assetis a delta asset by setting a value in the asset data structure 1175 toindicate this state. In step 2725, the CDS/ADS receives an asset anddetermines whether it is a streaming asset or a normal asset. If it isnormal, the CDS/ADS continues with normal operations, i.e., process 2700terminates. If the asset is a streaming asset, the CDS/ADS continues tostep 2730. In step 2730, the CDS/ADS determines whether the asset is aframe or delta. If the asset is a frame, the CDS/ADS goes to step 2735.If the asset is a delta, the CDS/ADS proceeds to step 2740. In step2735, the CDS/ADS finds deltas and last frame for the asset in the assetcache and marks them for removal. The CDS/ADS then caches the currentframe asset and proceeds to step 2745. In step 2740, the CDS/ADS cachesthe delta asset in the asset cache and proceeds to step 2745. In step2745, the CDS/ADS resumes normal operations as if the asset was not astreaming asset. In step 2750, the CDS/ADS receives a request to processan asset. If the asset is a streaming asset, the CDS/ADS proceeds tostep 2755. Otherwise the CDS/ADS proceeds to process the asset asdescribed in the process asset method 1800. In step 2755, the CDS/ADSselects the Processing Asset Adapter (PAA) based on asset type. TheCDS/ADS requests that the PAA create the complete asset by applying thedeltas to the frame asset in order of creation then proceeds to step2760.

In step 2760, the PAA applies the differential algorithm for that assettype against the processed asset to produce a new delta. In a preferredembodiment, the PAA would create a frame asset if the combination of thenew delta and the existing deltas for the asset are larger than theframe. In step 2765, the CDS/ADS stores the new delta asset in the assetcache.

In step 2770, the CDS/ADS builds a manifest for a target/client thatincludes a streaming asset. If 2771 the client has the most recent frameasset, the method continues onto step 2772, otherwise the method goes tostep 2774. In step 2772, the CDS/ADS determines the last delta that theclient has received, and adds the subsequent deltas for that asset tothe manifest. The method continues to step 2780. In step 2774, theCDS/ADS adds entries for the last frame and subsequent deltas for thespecified asset.

In step 2780, if the EAA is deploying a streaming asset, it deploys theframe and/or deltas into the target environment. For different assettypes, the application of the delta file has different meanings.Overall, the application of the delta is similar to replacing theexisting asset. In step 2782, if the asset is registered withsynchronization capabilities, the EAA saves a copy of the asset forlater comparison. In step 2784, the CDA is requested to synchronizetarget assets with source assets. The CDA selects the appropriateSynchronization Asset Adapter (SAA) for the specific asset type. If theasset is classified as a streaming asset, the method proceeds to step2786. In step 2786, the SAA creates a delta for the asset. A previouscopy of the asset, created in step 2782, is compared with the currentasset. The difference between these two assets is the delta that will beused to create the delta synchronization asset. The resulting deltasynchronization asset represents the changes that would need to beapplied in the source environment that has had all the previous deltasapplied to the last frame that was sent. In step 2788, the SAA continuesto synchronize the asset as it normally would in the synchronize assetadapter method 2000. The delta asset is treated the same as the assetdescribed in the other methods, and treated in the same manner (e.g.sent to the CDS/ADS). The SAA indicates that the asset is a delta assetby setting a value in the asset data structure 1175 to indicate thisstate. In a preferred embodiment, the CDS/ADS might coalesce deltas frommultiple targets before sending those deltas onto the source. This wouldreduce the processing in the source environment and also reduce networktraffic.

In step 2790, the SAA applies the synchronization information (e.g. LD210 and/or EE 220) in the synchronization asset 240 of the sourceenvironment. If the asset is a streaming asset, the frames and deltasare applied to the source environment.

FIG. 26 presents the Bridged Computational Environment (BCE) capabilityof the DIS technology according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. BCE provides the runtime capability to maintain communicationbetween runnable application parts. The communication can be maintainedthrough a variety of mechanisms, including but not limited to:redirection, server proxy, object proxy, and API proxy. The BCEmaintains efficient communication between runnable application parts sthat have been distributed in was beyond the intention of their design.

In step 2805, a method within a deployed asset attempts to access aresource that will cause a fault. If the resource is in the J2EE API,the method proceeds to step 2810. In step 2810, the J2EE API fault ishandled. If 2812 the fault is in a resource that has been defined in theJDNI that should be accessed on a remote machine, the method proceeds tostep 2815. Otherwise, the method proceeds to step 2820.

In step 2815, the JNDI implementation in the target environment hasdetermined that the entry that is being looked up exists on a remotesource or intermediate target other that the current computationalenvironment. The reference to the remote object is provided to therequester. For example, it would be beneficial to have a lookup for anobject in the target environment, maintain the semblance of the targetenvironment from which it came. An EJB on the target could use lookupmechanisms that are appropriate for the source environment, but not forthe target environment. The BCE would provide the bridging back to thesource environment or intermediate target environment, giving the localobject the impression that it is running in the source environment. Inone embodiment, the lookup could be into a flat file that is edited whenan asset is deployed to the local environment, and that asset needs tohave a reference to a remote object. In a preferred embodiment, thelookup information would be persistent in a database table in the targetenvironment.

In step 2820, the method determines if a JDBC fault has occurred. If aJDBC fault has occurred, the method continues to step 2825. Otherwise,the method continues to step 2830. In step 2825, the method triggers theimmediate distribution or synchronization of EB, ED, or RD assets. Forexample, when an application program attempts to perform a databaseoperation on a particular table, the actual changes to the table wouldbe routed to the source or intermediate target environment.

In step 2830, the method determines if a server fault has occurred. Aserver fault occurs when a reference to an object on a server isattempted, and the server is registered as needing to have a proxyconnection made to it. If so, the method proceeds to step 2835.Otherwise the method proceeds to step 2840. In step 2835, the methodlooks up which CDS/ADS can proxy the request for the server beingrequested. The method then proceeds to utilize the CDS/ADS to proxy thecommunication to the server. In one embodiment, the server would eitherbe on the CDS/ADS or in the source environment. For example, a CDS/ADSwould have the capability to proxy IIOP requests to a server in thesource environment behind a firewall. The proxy server on the CDS/ADSwould handle the HTTP tunneling of the IIOP traffic to conform to thefirewall specification for allowable traffic.

In step 2840, the method determines if an object fault has occurred. Anobject fault occurs when a request is made on an object that is a stubof the actual object. The stub acts as a proxy for the object, sendingthe request to the actual object. The actual object would typicallyreside in either a source environment or on an intermediate target. Ifan object fault has occurred, the method continues to step 2845.Otherwise the method continues to step 2850 where process 2800 ends. Instep 2845, the method executes the request using the stub object. Thestub object, in turn, calls either into the source environment or to anintermediate target. In either of these environments exists the actualobject that can fulfill the request. The actual object fulfills therequest and the stub returns any result to the caller object.

Please note that the fulfillment of requests using a proxy object iswell-known in the prior art, especially middleware systems. Themechanism of a stub object fulfilling requests differs here in that themiddleware environment did not intend to have these specific objectinteractions happening on the client or even an intermediate target. Thecapability to perform this request proxy behavior in a distributedfashion is only partially handled, if at all, by exiting middlewaretechnology.

In an alternate embodiment, a check is made to determine if an assetadapter will handle this fault and a proxy request or redirection isperformed to access the source asset. A proxy object accepts therequest, calls the CDS/ADS, which in turn calls the EDA on the source,which performs the call within the source environment, and returns theresult to the CDS/ADS, which returns the result to the CDA, and the CDAreturns the result to the proxy object, the proxy object returns theresults to the caller.

In a preferred embodiment, the package specification for different assettypes also includes the capability to translate the directory entriesfor those asset types. In some cases, the directory entry would be apointer to a reference to a resource in the EIS. The reference wouldneed to be translated into a reference to a resource local to the targetenvironment or to some intermediate target environment. A thirdpossibility is that the reference would need to be translated to aserver on the EIS, the resource may be accessed in a different way whenoutside the EIS (i.e. firewall traversal).

Note, the package can be incomplete, not defining all the assets thatmake up the call graph. In this case, the base environment on the targetenvironment bridges the calls that attempt to access resources and codein the source environment. Additionally notethat the package can besplit into two or more packages. These packages can be deployed indifferent target environments. The base environment bridges the callsthat attempt to access resources and code outside its node.

Quality of Service (QoS) in the system of FIG. 27 (Distributed InternetServices—DIS) refers to the capacity to route the distribution of assetsin a variable manner throughout the network. Certain assets are deemedhigher priority or more secure than other assets. Those privilegedassets are routed differently than other assets. In the case ofpriority, the privileged asset would preempt the processing of normalassets, be routed ahead of lower priority assets, and/or execute with ahigher priority in computational environments. In the case of security,the privileged asset would be sent over a more secure channel, encryptedin the cache, and/or stored in the computational environment in asecured manner.

For example, two users are competing for the same Internet resources,yet there is no differentiation between these users or their uses of theInternet. The casual user is streaming MP3 file and chatting withfriends in a chat room. The corporate user is attempting to conductresearch while preparing a report for a meeting the next morning. Thereis limited bandwidth available, and each user is awarded bandwidth inthe same manner, at the same priority. The casual user is using severalInternet applications simultaneously with a fragmented interest in eachapplication. The corporate user is focused on one application at a time,finding the needed information and moving onto the next task. If theseapplications utilized the QoS capabilities in the DIS, the casual usercould have assets delivered at a lower priority than the corporate user.The assets for the corporate user would preempt the casual user's assetsas each is being distributed. Use of intermediate computationalenvironments would favor the processing for the corporate user over thecasual user. The corporate user's traffic can be monitored and thecorporate user can be charged according to a different service levelagreement than the casual user.

QoS capabilities work best when resource contention is handled in aconsistent manner. In a preferred embodiment, the DIS handles networkinteraction from the source to the target, a complete end-to-endsolution. In this way, DIS provides a QoS capability on top of otherprotocols. And as the number of applications using those sub-protocolsdecreases, the DIS applications enjoy a more effective QoSfunctionality.

FIG. 27 describes the capability of the DIS to assign, measure, enforce,and report Quality of Service (QoS) functionality throughout the DISsystem according to one embodiment of the present invention. One of theobjectives of QoS is to improve performance for higher priorityapplications by queuing and scheduling data as it is sent over anetwork. DIS keeps track of the QoS requirements and capabilitiesend-to-end: on the source tier, distribution tier, and target tier. TheQoS requirements for assets are matched up to the QoS capabilities ofthe system to provide this functionality. The agents each participate insupporting the QoS capabilities by queuing traffic and scheduling thedelivery of that traffic. As assets move through the system, they areeither given space on a queue or space on a network connection(bandwidth).

Part of the QoS capabilities of DIS is routing the distribution ofassets in a variable manner throughout the network. Certain assets aredeemed higher priority or more secure than other assets. Thoseprivileged assets are routed differently than other assets. In the caseof priority, the privileged asset would preempt the processing of normalassets, be routed ahead of lower priority assets, and execute with ahigher priority in computational environments. This is accomplished byqueuing the lower priority assets and delivering the higher-priorityassets. The priority of an asset might be designated in the Other field(770 of FIG. 5). In the case of security, the privileged asset would besent over a more secure channel, encrypted in the cache, and/or storedin the computational environment in a secured manner.

In step 2910, an agent is about to process a set of assets or deliverthose assets to another agent. In step 2920, the agent examines thepriority field, e.g. 1179, of the asset specification 1170 for theassets it is attempting to process or deliver to another agent. In step2930, the agent applies a quality of service algorithm to theprioritized list to determine which assets should be assigned resourceson the delaying queue (step 2940), and which assets should beprocessed/delivered (step 2950). In step 2940, lower priority assets areenqueued until the processing/delivery of higher priority assets iscompleted. As this method proceeds, the lower priority assets are eitherraised in priority by the QoS algorithm, or they are the highestpriority for some round of evaluation. In step 2950, higher priorityassets are processed and/or delivered to other agents.

Note that Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are the contracts guaranteeingnetwork capabilities. QoS enables the fulfillment of these SLAguarantees. Also note, QoS is typically provided by differentiating datapackets on a network. The data packets are correlated back to anapplication. The correlation allows the packets to be handleddifferently on the network. The correlation is done as an afterthoughtto provide QoS. Note, DIS differs from the prior art by coupling theapplications with an infrastructure that is aware of the differentresources that constitute those applications. QoS granularity now can gobeyond the data packets associated with an application. For example, QoScan be based on the DBMS data, moving the data at a higher priority thanthe other resources that make up an application. Note, integration withmetrics gathering software and hardware helps establish the resourceloading and capabilities. Integration with the network devices (loadbalancers, switches, routers, network adapters, hubs) provides aconnection between application and data packet handling.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram of a general system according to oneembodiment of the present invention being used in various businesssituations. The system has one or more nodes 3130 connected to anoptional intermediate target server (ITS1) 3160. This ITS1 could cacheassets 240 used by a large number of client/target/nodes 3130, e.g.individual users in a large office building. Alternatively, a secondITS2 3170 could be located in a different physical location that happensto be close to a first pervasive device 3140 like a palm pilot, cellphone, or other device that has connection to the network 3110, e.g. bya radio, infrared, connection. A second pervasive device 3150 isconnected to the network directly 3108, e.g. through any generalconnection like an internet service provider (ISP) and does not connectthrough an ITS (3160, 3170) One or more CDS/ADSs 3180 are connected tothe network 3105 as well as one or more sources/EISs (910, 3190). In oneembodiment, the EIS has a publish 2200 agent, the CDS/ADS 3180 has asubscriber 2300 and caching 2500 agent, and the ITS 3160 has acomputational 2400 and subscriber 2300 agent (and alternatively a cacheagent 2500).

Referring back to FIGS. 28A-28F, Steps 3002 to 3006 of block diagram3000A below describe examples of target and client nodes. In step 3002,a deployment engineer or automated process defines the clientworkstation using a client node registry specification, sent to thesubscriber agent 2300 on the CDS/ADS (960, 3180). The first client nodeis defined as TCN1 3130, and is a workstation within a small enterprise.TCN1 has the DIS subscriber 2300 and computational 2400 agentsinstalled. In step 3004, a deployment engineer or an automated processdefines a wireless appliance client. This second client node may bedefined as TCN2 3140, and is a Palm Pilot that is able to connect to theInternet over a wireless connection 3110. The Palm Pilot is capable ofrunning the minimal application server on a Java™ virtual machine. Thesubscriber 2300 and computational 2400 agents are installed on the TCN23140 to provide the ability to distribute assets to the TCN2, and runthose assets once they are deployed 1700 into the base environment 250on TCN2 3140. In step 3006, a deployment engineer or an automatedprocess defines a wireless appliance client that is meant to havelimited resources. This third client node is defined as TCN3 3150, adevice with limited function, e.g., a Digital PCS Phone with limited Webbrowser capabilities. TCN3 is heavily reliant on a point-of-presence inorder to connect to a network, and can only be used to browse content.In this example, TCN3 does not have a Java virtual machine—this meansthat it only acts as a Web client. None of the Distributed InternetServices (DIS) 900 agents (2200, 2300, 2400, and 2500) are deployed toTCN3 3150. Step 3007 continues to define other target nodes that may beon the network, as above.

Steps 3008 and 3010 of block diagram 3000B below describe two exampleintermediate target servers. In step 3008, a deployment engineer or anautomated process defines an intermediate server 3160 to be used withinthe same small enterprise as TCN1 3130. The first intermediate server isdefined as ITS1 3160, and is a server within a small enterprise that isintended to run part or all of a Web application for one or more clientnodes 3130 within the small enterprise. The subscriber 2300,computational 2400, and (optional) caching 2500 agents are installed onITS1 3160. In step 3010, a deployment engineer or an automated processdefines an intermediate server to be used as both a point of presencefor TCN3 3150 and as a CDS/ADS for TCN2 3140. The second intermediateserver is defined as ITS2 3170. In a preferred embodiment, the ITS2 3170can be a leased server resource provided by Application Service Provider(ASP) or ISP vendors with the DIS subscriber 2300, (optional) publisher2200, computational 2400, and caching 2500 agents. Other servers can bedefined in a similar manner. Note that when the deployment engineer orautomated process defines a client and/or a server, this definition canbe done by providing the defined computer with agents, e.g. subscription2300, computation 2400, and/or cache 2500. These agents can be providedusing the DIS and distributed these agents as packages of assets 240.

Steps 3012 to 3020 of block diagram 3000C below describe definition ofpackages/applications as they are distributed across tiers of thenetwork. In step 3012, a package is defined for the end-user targetenvironment such as TCN1 3130 and ITS1 3160, to enable the distributionof an optimal number of assets 240. For example, 20% of the applicationassets 240 that represents 80% of the time spent in the application bythe average user are distributed to the target. The deployment engineercreates the package specification 1100 explicitly, or employs thediscover process 2100 to identify and characterize the execution of theapplication in the EIS (900, 3190). In step 3014, a package 1100, PKG1is defined for enterprise target environments such as ITS1 3160. PKG11100 defines an application (sub applications) that can support partialdistribution of the application. As an example, some of the Web pageswill be generated by the computational agent 2400 on ITS1, some of theWeb pages will be generated back in the EIS. In step 3016, a package isdefined, PKG2 1100 is defined for end-user target environments such asTCN1 3130. PKG2 defines an application that can support partialdistribution of the application (sub applications). As an example, someof the Web pages will be generated by the computational agent 2400 onTCN1 3130, some of the Web pages will be generated back in the EIS. Instep 3018, a package is defined, PKG3 1100 is defined for wirelessaccess points such as ITS2 3170. The wireless access point, ITS2, is aserver in a close proximity to the wireless device (3140, 3150). Theintention with PKG3 is for assets to execute within the computationalagent 2400 on ITS2 3170. In step 3020, a package is defined, PKG4 1100is defined for wireless devices such as TCN2 3140. The wireless device,TCN2, is connected 3110 to the Internet, through the wireless accesspoint ITS2. The intention with PKG4 is for assets 240 to execute bothwithin the computational agent 2400 on TCN2 3140 and within thecomputational agent 2400 on ITS2. Similar steps are performed to defineother end-user targets.

Steps 3022 to 3036 of block diagram 3000D below describe variouspreferred ways assets 240 are distributed to computational environmentsand secondary caches across the tiers of the network. In step 3022, theCDS/ADS initiates the distribution (1200, 1300) based on the scheduledefined for package PKG1 1100. The subscription agent 2300 in theCDS/ADS requests version information from the publishing agent 2200 inthe EIS. The version information is compared with the versioninformation for assets 240 already delivered to ITS1, as describedabove. If there are assets 240 that have not been delivered, thesubscription agent 2300 on the CDS/ADS requests those assets from thepublishing agent 2200 on the EIS. The publishing agent 2200 exports therequested assets and returns them to the subscription agent 2300 on theCDS/ADS. The subscription agent 2300 on the CDS/ADS requests that thecaching agent 2500 on the CDS/ADS store the assets. The caching agent2500 on the CDS/ADS performs processing on all the new assets in theasset cache. In step 3024, the subscription agent 2300 on ITS1 queriesthe subscription agent 2300 on CDS/ADS 3180 for new assets/PKG1 1100.The caching agent 2500 on ITS1 performs any targeted processing 1900 onthe assets 240 that are to be delivered to TCN1. TCN1 requests that thecomputational agent 2400 on ITS1 deploy the assets 240 into the baseenvironment 250 on TCN1. In step 3026, do the same as steps 3022 and3024, except for PKG2 1100 into the asset cache on ITS1. In step 3028,the subscription agent 2300 on TCN1 queries the subscription agent 2300on ITS1 for new assets 240, e.g. PKG2 1100. New assets, associated withPKG2 1100, are distributed down 1400 by the subscription agent 2300 onITS1 to the subscription agent 2300 on TCN1. The subscription agent 2300on TCN1 requests that the computational agent 2400 on TCN1 deploy 1700the assets into the base environment 250. In step 3030, similar to step3022 and 3024, except for PKG3 1100 into the asset cache on CDS/ADS. Instep 3032, similar to step 3024, except PKG3 1100 replaces PKG2 and ITS2replaces ITS1. In step 3034, similar to step 3022 and 3024, except forPKG4 is relayed from the CDS/ADS 3180 asset cache, into the asset cacheon ITS2. In step 3036, similar to step 3024, except for PKG4 from ITS2cache into computational environment on TCN2.

Steps 3038 to 3056 of block diagram 3000E below discuss various waysthat assets are executed in a distributed manner across tier of thenetwork. In step 3038, TCN1 may access a Web page that is generated onthe EIS server. This is the same as normal Web applications today, andis still available to use, when using DIS, when appropriate. In step3040, TCN1 may access a Web page from the small enterprise server ITS1.TCN1 would only need a Web browser to access the application in thismethod over a standard client/server communication connection 3107. Instep 3042, TCN1 may access a Web page from the computational agent onTCN1. In this case, no part of the application would be running over thenetwork connections. This is because the assets 240 in the Web page weredistributed over connection 3101 and processed as described above. Instep 3044, TCN1 would access a Web page that was generated by assetsthat are running on the computational agents TCN1, ITS1, and the EIS.Note that these agents all work together to maintain the communicationbetween these assets and a combination of assets in these environments,up to and including all the assets are used to generate a single Webpage, e.g., using the bridge process explained above. In step 3046,changes may occur in the computational environment on TCN1 that need tobe synchronized in the EIS. The computational agent 2400 on TCN1identifies the synchronization asset and requests, through connection3101 that the subscription agent 2300 on CDS/ADS synchronize 2000 theasset 240. The subscription agent 2300 on the CDS/ADS requests that thecomputational agent 2400 on the EIS synchronizes the synchronizationasset. In step 3048, TCN2 may access a Web page from the smallenterprise server ITS2. TCN2 would only need a Web browser to access theapplication in this method. This is a standard known Web page serverconnection 3110. However the assets used to create the small enterpriseserver on ITS2 were distributed from the EIS (900, 3190) overconnections 3103 and 3104 using the agents as described above. In step3050, TCN2 may access a Web page from the computational agent on TCN2.In this case, no part of the application would be running over thenetwork connections. This is because the assets 240 in the Web page weredistributed over connection 3110 and processed as described above. Instep 3052, similar to 3044 but only bridging computation between TCN2 &ITS2. In step 3054, similar to 3046 but between TCN2 & ITS2. In step3056, TCN3 3150 may access a Web page from the small enterprise serverITS2. TCN3 would only need a Web browser to access the application inthis method using a well-known Web page server connection 3108. However,the assets 240 in the Web page were distributed over connection 3103 and3104 and processed as described above.

Steps 3058 through 3062 of block diagram 3000F below describedistribution of current versions of assets. In step 3058, some outsideprocess changes one or more assets on the EIS. In step 3060, the CDS/ADSsubscription agent 2300 requests that the EIS publishing agent 2200checks the versions of assets on EIS. In step 3062, the CDS/ADSdetermines if any assets have changed in PKG1 . . . PKG4, if so the newasset(s) is distributed (1200, 1300, and 1400) to the appropriate targetenvironment and asset cache.

Several embodiments of the present invention are specificallyillustrated and described herein. However, it will be appreciated thatmodifications and variations of the present invention are covered by theabove teachings and within the purview of the appended claims withoutdeparting from the spirit and intended scope of the invention.

1. A method for distributing an asset to a multi-tiered network node,comprising: determining at least one pending asset on a distributionserver; receiving a pending notice associated with the pending assetfrom the distribution server; receiving an asset descriptor manifestfrom the distribution server, the asset descriptor manifest having atleast one asset identifier and at least one offset, the asset identifierand the offset being associated with the pending asset; storing theasset descriptor manifest in a memory; receiving a first asset fragmentassociated with the pending asset from the distribution server, thefirst fragment having a first offset indicating an end of the firstfragment; storing the first asset fragment in a memory; marking theoffset with the first offset; and receiving a second asset fragmentassociated with the pending asset, the second asset fragment starting atthe offset.
 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:querying the distribution server for the pending notice.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 2, wherein the pending notice does not indicate apending asset.
 4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:querying the distribution server for a subsequent pending notice after atime delay.
 5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising oneor more of: determining the time delay based on a deployment timeassociated with a next asset deployment sequence; determining the timedelay by polling the distribution; or determining the time delay basedon an algorithm and at least one performance requirement of anapplication associated with the pending asset.
 6. The method accordingto claim 1, further comprising: sending the marked asset descriptormanifest to the distribution server.
 7. The method according to claim 1,further comprising: sending a request for pending assets not yetdeployed to the distribution server.
 8. The method according to claim 1,further comprising: changing the asset identifier associated with thepending asset after the pending asset is received.
 9. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the pending asset has a schedule time, theschedule time being at or before a current time.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the pending asset is not included in theasset descriptor manifest if the pending asset is stored in the memory.11. The method according to claim 1, wherein a target identifierassociates the pending asset with the node.
 12. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the distribution server insures that the pending assetis a current version residing on a source node connected to the network.13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the asset descriptormanifest includes one or more of a deployment time schedule and thepending asset is deployed into a base environment of the node accordingto the deployment time schedule, a plurality of pending assets, a subsetof pending assets, or a subset of dependent assets that are deployedinto a base environment associated with the node after the plurality ofdependent assets are received.
 14. The method according to claim 1,wherein the pending asset is deployed into a base environment associatedwith the node if the pending asset is an independent asset.
 15. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the second asset fragment includesa header having the asset identifier.
 16. A system for distributing anasset to a multi-tiered network node, comprising: at least one network;at least one distribution server coupled to the network; at least oneport; at least one processor coupled to the port and the network; and atleast one memory, coupled to the processor, storing instructions adaptedto be executed by the processor to perform the method steps of claim 1.17. A computer-readable medium that stores instructions for distributingan asset to a multi-tiered network node, the instructions adapted to beexecuted by a processor to perform the steps of the method of claim 1.18. A method for distributing assets to multi-tiered network nodes,comprising: sending an asset deployment query from a target node to acontent distribution server, the query including a target identifier;searching an asset deployment queue for the target identifier;indicating, to the target node, whether the target identifier was foundin the deployment queue; sending a request for an asset descriptormanifest from the target node to the content distribution server;identifying at least one asset that needs to be distributed to thetarget node; creating an asset manifest entry associated with each assetthat needs to be distributed to the target node; assembling the assetdescriptor manifest from at least one asset manifest entry; sending theasset descriptor manifest from the content distribution server to thetarget node; determining at least one asset associated with at least oneasset manifest entry; sending a request for the asset from the targetnode to the content distribution server; creating a data structureassociated with the asset; and sending the data structure from thecontent distribution server to the target node.
 19. A method fordistributing an asset to multi-tiered network node, comprising: queryingan asset deployment queue for an instance of a target identifier;requesting an asset descriptor manifest; receiving the asset descriptormanifest, the asset descriptor manifest including at least one assetmanifest entry associated with the asset; determining the assetassociated with the asset manifest entry; requesting the asset;receiving a data structure associated with the asset.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, wherein the asset manifest entry includes one or more of anasset identifier and an offset, an asset type, a cache name, or atimestamp.
 21. The method of claim 19, wherein the data structureincludes a complete instance of the asset or includes a first fragmentassociated with the asset.
 22. The method of claim 19, furthercomprising: requesting a second fragment associated with the asset;receiving a data structure including the second fragment; and requestinga next fragment associated with the asset until a complete instance ofthe asset is received.
 23. The method of claim 19, wherein the assetdescriptor manifest includes a plurality of asset manifest entries andthe data structure includes a plurality of assets corresponding to aplurality of asset manifest entries.
 24. The method of claim 23, furthercomprising: storing one or a plurality of assets; selecting a deployasset adapter associated with each of the asset(s); and deploying eachof the asset (s).
 25. A method for distributing an asset to multi-tierednetwork node, comprising: servicing an asset deployment query from atarget node; receiving a request for an asset descriptor manifest fromthe target node; identifying at least one asset that needs to bedistributed to the target node; creating an asset manifest entryassociated with each asset that needs to be distributed to the targetnode; assembling the asset descriptor manifest from at least one assetmanifest entry; sending the asset descriptor manifest to the targetnode; receiving a request for at least one asset from the target node;creating a data structure associated with the asset; and sending thedata structure to the target node.
 26. The method of claim 25, whereinthe asset manifest entry includes one or more of an asset identifier andan offset, an asset type, a cache name, or a timestamp.
 27. The methodof claim 25, wherein the data structure includes a complete instance ofthe asset or includes a first fragment of the asset.
 28. The method ofclaim 25, further comprising: receiving a request for a second fragmentof the asset; sending a data structure including the second fragment ofthe asset; and receiving a request for a next fragment until a completeinstance of the asset is sent.
 29. The method of claim 25, wherein theasset descriptor manifest includes a plurality of asset manifest entriesand the data structure includes a plurality of assets corresponding to aplurality of asset manifest entries.
 30. The method of claim 25, whereinsaid servicing includes: receiving a target identifier associated withthe target node; searching a deployment queue for the target identifier;and indicating, to the target node, whether the target identifier wasfound in the deployment queue.
 31. The method of claim 25, wherein saididentifying includes: receiving a target identifier associated with thetarget node; creating a plurality of relational database views;performing selections on a set of network database tables using theplurality of relational database views and the target identifier;extracting at least one asset identifier associated with at least oneasset that needs to be distributed to the target node.
 32. The method ofclaim 25, wherein said creating a data structure includes: identifyingan asset manifest entry associated with the asset; extracting a cachename and an offset from the asset manifest entry; retrieving the assetfrom an archive associated with the cache name; determining whether theasset is larger than a predetermined threshold; dividing the digitalasset into a plurality of fragments, each fragment being smaller thanthe predetermined threshold; inserting a first fragment into the datastructure; and updating the offset to correspond to a boundary of thefirst fragment.